There will be no love lost when the Vodacom Bulls host the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their all-South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final in Pretoria on Saturday, where a place in the Grand Final of the cross-hemisphere showpiece will be up for grabs.
Anathi Qolo will captain a Springbok Women side with a combined 174 caps in their 2025 Rugby Africa Women's Cup opener against Uganda in Antananarivo on Saturday, with three uncapped players – Patience Mokone, Faith Tshauke and Anushka Groenewald – included in the starting team for the Test at Stade Makis.
A new lock pairing for Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final derby clash against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria is the only set of changes to the Hollywoodbets Sharks as they take continuity into selection for this massive local knock-out.
Lwazi Zangqa from Border has been named as the new head coach of the SA Schools side, and he will be assisted by the Bulls’ Cobus van Dyk, while the SA Schools ‘A’ team will be coached by Flash Malinga of KwaZulu-Natal, with Clinton van Rensburg of Western Province named as his assistant.
Ireland centurion Cian Healy and Shannon Frizell from New Zealand have been confirmed as the latest names to join up with the Barbarians when they lock horns against the Springboks in the historic Qatar Airways Cup in Cape Town at the end of the month.
At the age of 22, life was good for Lerato Makua. In 2023, she had established herself in the Springbok Women squad, playing in 10 Tests and two friendlies and representing South Africa in Wales, England, Japan, New Zealand and Madagascar, and later France.
The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks kept the South African flag flying in a drama-filled knock-out round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, with both teams winning their quarter-finals, which will see them face off against one another in an all-South African semi-final in Pretoria next Saturday.
South Africa’s Griffin Colby and Quinton Immelman were included amongst the list of match officials confirmed on Thursday for the forthcoming World Rugby Under-20 Rugby Championship, which kicks off in a month’s time in Italy.
Jake White has been here before in his illustrious coaching career. But perhaps never before has one of the most recognisable coaches in world rugby felt such a deep emotional connection to a squad of players chasing a trophy.
South Africa’s three Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finalists face their biggest task of the season this weekend as they line up against top opposition in the quarter-final of the cross-hemisphere series, where victories will be non-negotiable to advance to the semi-final stages.