South Africa claimed a comfortable six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in their T20 World Cup Group D opener at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
It was not the result they had hoped for, but the Springbok Sevens will take away valuable lessons from Madrid this weekend after they finished sixth in the HSBC SVNS Grand Finale in Spain.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has named his 23-man squad to face Nigeria and Zimbabwe in two FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.
The World Rugby U20 Championship returns to South Africa in June and July when the 12 best Under-20 teams will battle it out for global supremacy.
The Springboks added prestigious continental awards to their impressive list of accolades following their back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles last year, when they received the Team of the Year and Sportsman of the Year awards at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Sports Awards in Lusaka, Zambia.
It was not the result they wanted, but the Junior Springboks were happy with the effort and learnings from their U20 Rugby Championship opener played in very difficult conditions against a strong New Zealand Under-20 side in Australia.
The Springboks will line up against Rugby World Cup opponents, Scotland and England, before taking on Wales in the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in November, with the last Tests confirmed on Monday.
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says her team "threw the kitchen sink" at Nigeria in their goalless draw at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Banyana Banyana failed to qualify for the CAF Women's Olympic qualifier after suffering a 1-0 aggregate defeat against arch-rivals Nigeria.
Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is among the nominees for the Goalkeeper of the Year at the inaugural 2023 COSAFA Awards.