Latest sports news and fixtures: Saturday 30 November 2019
Get all the latest sports news and fixtures for Saturday 30 November 2019, a day that includes rugby, cricket and football action with South African interest.
Latest sports news and fixtures
Premier Soccer League
Polokwane City vs Bloem Celtic, Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, 15:30
Polokwane City seek to end a run of seven defeats on the trot in all competitions when they host mid-table Bloemfontein Celtic at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Rise and Shine are still under the temporary guidance of Bernard Molekwa as they look for a permanent successor to the recently departed Zlatko Krmpotić.
Black Leopards vs Golden Arrows, Thohoyandou Stadium, 18:00
Luc Eymael and Steve Komphela renew hostilities as Black Leopards host Golden Arrows on Saturday evening.
Eymael mocked Komphela’s lack of trophies in 2018 after himself winning the Nedbank Cup with Free State Stars. Nevertheless, Komphela is laughing loudest at present as Arrows sit fourth in the Premiership while Leopards fend off relegation.
Cape Town City FC vs Highlands Park, Cape Town Stadium, 18:00
Jan Olde Riekerink gets his first home game in the dugout since taking over at Cape Town City as they host Highlands Park at Cape Town Stadium.
Vasili Manousakis took temporary charge of the Citizens following Benni McCarthy’s sacking while Olde Riekerink awaited his work permit.
SuperSport United vs Stellenbosch, Lucas Moripe Stadium, 20:15
Stellenbosch were humbled 4-0 by Kaizer Chiefs in midweek and Steve Barker’s men desperately need a response against SuperSport United on Saturday.
SuperSport United do not look in the mood to hand out any favours, though, as goals from Kudakwashe Mahachi and Sipho Mbule saw them down Maritzburg United 2-0 in their last game.
Guinness PRO14
Connacht vs Isuzu Southern Kings, 19:15, The Sportsground, Galway
The men from Port Elizabeth will be determined to show that their recent win over the Ospreys – which was their first overseas victory since joining the Guinness PRO14 and their first of the season – was no flash in the pan, and that they can build on that result.
Isuzu Southern Kings coach Robbi Kempson expected a testing encounter against Connacht, who have been in good form recently, despite going down against Toulouse in the Champions Cup last weekend. And with the hosts having won four of their six Guinness PRO14 matches up to now, compared to one by the visitors, the Isuzu Southern Kings will have their work cut out to create an upset.
“Connacht are a proper team and they have shown that with their start to the Champions Cup,” said Kempson.
The Isuzu Southern Kings will need to improve their discipline and scrummaging, in particular, this week, as they conceded several penalties last time out, while their problems in the scrum allowed Ospreys to fight back strongly at the Liberty Stadium.
Ospreys vs Toyota Cheetahs, 21:35, Liberty Stadium, Neath
The Toyota Cheetahs, meanwhile, will look to end a three-match losing run, and return to the winning ways which saw them get the season off to a firing start with three wins in a row and had their supporters buzzing early in the campaign.
“We really want to win this game for several reasons,” said Toyota Cheetahs centre William Small-Smith. “There was a great hype around the team after our first three games and we want to get that back. We want to be in the play-offs and in the Semi-final, so this is a crucial game for us.”
He said the long festive season break ahead made it even more important that they leave everything on the field.
“We go into a quite lengthy break now and we don’t want it to be spoiled by the memory of a defeat,” said Small-Smith. “I still remember the feeling in the team bus in Cardiff the morning after our last defeat. It was a very long journey home, and the whole time the defeat hung over us like a dark cloud, and it has been at the back of our minds since.
“We only play again on 4 January, and we still have a long season ahead of us, but we need the break after playing in the Currie Cup and then going straight into the Guinness PRO14, but we don’t want to go into the break feeling like we didn’t do our best in our last game.”
Barbarians Rugby
Wales vs Barbarians, 16:45, Principality Stadium, Cardiff
The Barbarians take on Wales in the final International rugby action of 2019, in a match that will also be the swansong for Rory Best and Schalk Brits.
Curwin Bosch, Dillyn Leyds, Andre Esyerhuizen, Marco van Staden and Weihan Herbst will all start the match.
Netball Test
South Africa vs England, Velodrome, Bellville, 15:00
Spirits are high in both camps ahead of the SPAR Challenge international netball series between the SPAR Proteas and the Vitality Roses at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town this weekend.
The teams last met in the bronze medal play off at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool in July. England won that match 58-42.
Both teams have new coaches, with Dorette Badenhorst taking over from the great Australian coach, Norma Plummer and Jess Thirlby replacing Tracy Neville and both coaches will be trying out new combinations as they start preparations for the World Cup in Cape Town in 2023.
“We’re very excited about this series,” said Badenhorst.
“It’s a new beginning – new coaches and new teams. As far as the SPAR Proteas are concerned, we will be building on what we learned from Norma Plummer. But I believe I can add to that – I have some ideas of my own and I believe I can bring something new to the team,” she said.
“All the players in the team played in the Africa Cup, but for some of them it will be the first time they face a top team like England. We aim to win the series but it also gives me an opportunity to see how some of the young players respond to pressure.
“It is a ranking competition, and we want to improve our ranking.”
South Africa are currently ranked fifth and England are ranked third.
Thirlby said the rivalry between the SPAR Proteas and the Vitality Roses was rapidly becoming one of the great modern rivalries.
“I think this Test series is a win-win situation. We are determined to win, but whatever happens, we will have learned a lot by the time we get onto the plane to go home,” said Thirlby.
“We have six players who have never played against South Africa and some of them have never played a Test outside England so they will benefit from the experience.
“It will be our first Test series since the World Cup. We had a tour of Australia and New Zealand at about the time of the Africa Cup, but we played Australia A and New Zealand A rather than the national teams.”
“We are so excited about this series,” said SPAR Proteas captain Bongi Msomi.
“We have lost some senior players. Erin Burger and Maryka Holtzhausen have retired and Karla Pretorius was not available but we have some very good players who have the opportunity to step up to the next level.
“Our aim in each match is consistency – we can’t afford to fall behind in a single quarter.”
Asked whether the SPAR Proteas had been offered any incentive to do well in the series, Msomi said the players were not motivated by the thought of a financial incentive.
“It’s not about playing for money – it is about doing well and empowering each other. We believe we can compete against the best and that it what we are aiming to do.”
“It is a tremendous privilege to be playing in the city that will host the 2023 World Cup,” said Vitality Roses captain Natalie Haythornthwaite.
“We have great respect for the SPAR Proteas and we are looking forward to testing ourselves against them. I think it is going to be a brilliant series.
“We have a team of all shapes and sizes and I think we can deal with anything they throw at us,” she said.
The second Test will be played at the Bellville Velodrome at 3 pm on Saturday. It will be preceded by a match between the SPAR Baby Proteas and Lesotho.
Latest sports news
Eben Etzebeth touched down in France this week ahead of his debut in the French Top 14 with Toulon.
SA Rugby have warned schools and clubs to exercise extreme caution when booking and paying for sports tours from third parties following reports of alleged theft of money from parents of a rugby team that paid for their children to tour abroad.
“These situations are very sad as it not only robs these children of a wonderful opportunity to experience a rugby tour, but there are also massive financial losses,” said Mark Alexander, president of SA Rugby.
“We need to make it clear that this tour was not sanctioned by SA Rugby. Furthermore, we urge schools, clubs and parents to ensure all the checks and balances are applied before making any form of payment.”
Three years since winning the Caf Coach of the Year award, Pitso Mosimane is up for the same accolade again.
Unai Emery is no longer the manager of Arsenal having been given the elbow after a string of poor performances.
Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal will go into the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship perched atop the leaderboard after another solid round of golf on Friday’s Day 2 of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.
He backed up his opening 66 with a three-under-par 69 in tough conditions as the wind began to swirl in the afternoon, making every shot a challenge to be taken very seriously.
“It wasn’t an easy day,” said Larrazabal, “the wind was swirling around and gusting, and you know in this golf course because it’s tight, the targets are tough. But I am happy with the 69.”
Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz will not air on DSTV’s Supersport.
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