All set for first Test against All Blacks: Who will Rassie back for t…

Are Ox Nche and Siya Kolisi fit to take on the All Blacks this coming Saturday? biznow.biz

Who between Wilco Louw and Zachary Porthen will make it into the matchday-23?

And, who’ll start at No 5 lock, scrumhalf, and flyhalf?

These are the burning questions about the makeup of Rassie Erasmus’ team for the first Test against the All Blacks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, at Ellis Park on Saturday (5.10pm).

After weeks of build-up which has seen the Boks take on the Barbarians and Argentina in friendly matches, and England, Scotland and Wales in the new Nations Championship last month, and he All Blacks warm up with their own three Nations Championship games and three matches in South Africa against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls, we’re all set for the four-match Test series.

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All Blacks boss Dave Rennie has his own head-scratching to do regarding the makeup of his side.

Among the tougher decisions, who’ll play 9 and 10, will there be place, if fit, for Damian McKenzie, does veteran Beauden Barrett feature, and just how match-ready is regular captain and No 8 Ardie Savea, who only arrived in the country late last week?

Boks fans though will be far more interested in what Erasmus does this week.

Loosehead prop star Nche hasn’t played in weeks, while Kolisi injured his hamstring early in the match against Argentina last weekend, casting his participation in this series in doubt. If he is unable to play, will rookie Paul de Villiers get his shot, or will Erasmus turn to veteran Deon Fourie, a late call-up last week.

If Thomas du Tout starts at No 3 who’ll back him up on the bench – powerful scrummager Louw or the mobile and busy Porthen, who has had such an impact since debuting late last year?

Lood de Jager, who started for the first time in ages against Argentina, is again fit, but will Erasmus gamble with him and Eben Etzebeth, who also only returned to action in Buenos Aires after a long injury absence, against the All Blacks, or will the work-horse Ruan Nortjé take charge at No 5?

And then there is the halfback pairing.

Grant Williams or Cobus Reinach at scrumhalf? Does it matter who starts and who plays off the bench? Does Morné van den Berg come into the equation?

And at flyhalf, will it be Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the most dynamic of the No 10 options, but he, too, only got back into the mix against Argentina and looked rusty, or will it be the more dependable and you-know-what-you’re-going-to-get Handré Pollard or Manie Libbok?

It will also be interesting to see where a player like André Esterhuizen fits in and how the bench will be split between forwards and backs.

Erasmus will name his matchday-23 for the first Test on Thursday this week.

BROWNSBURG, IND. — South Africa’s Lloyd Harris captured the singles title at the inaugural Indiana Hardcourt Championships this week, defeating Hawaii native Andre Ilagan 6-2, 7-6(6) in the final.

The event, part of the ATP Challenger Tour, concluded a successful six-day return of professional tennis to Central Indiana. For Harris, the title is the culmination of a rigorous week of high-level tennis, demanding physical endurance and mental fortitude.

Harris started the tournament with strong, straight-set performances. He dismissed the USA’s Andrew Fenty 7-6(2), 6-1 in the opening round before managing a tight 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Netherlands’ Mees Rottgering. As the week progressed, the South African was pushed the distance in back-to-back three-set battles. In the quarterfinals, Harris dropped the opening set against Great Britain’s Harry Wendelken but recovered to win 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. He showcased similar resolve in the semifinals, rallying from a first-set tiebreak loss to defeat the USA’s Daniel Milavsky 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3.

In Sunday’s championship match, Harris took early control, securing the first set 6-2. However, fatigue from playing his fifth match in as many days briefly caught up with him, and he quickly found himself facing a 3-0 deficit in the second set. Relying on his experience and steady baseline game, Harris fought back to force a tiebreak, ultimately clinching the match and the trophy.

“I felt like I was playing well today,” Harris noted following the match. “Obviously, it was my fifth match in five days, so starting the second set, I felt a little fatigued, but I felt I was playing a high level… Felt positive overall and obviously happy that I could come through in two sets.”

The tournament, hosted at the Brownsburg High School Tennis Complex, proved to be a fitting stage for Harris’s latest professional milestone. The South African will look to carry this positive momentum forward as the hardcourt season continues.

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Après trois finales perdues, le Cameroun a enfin inscrit son nom de vainqueur sur le socle de la Coupe d’Afrique des nations (CAN) – Maroc 2026 en s’imposant avec autorité face à la grande surprise, le Malawi (3 – 0), dimanche soir à Rabat.

Alors qu’on s’attendait à une finale inédite et détonante entre le Cameroun et le Malawi, grande surprise de cette 14^e édition de la Coupe d’Afrique des nations (CAN) – Maroc 2026, les Lionnes Indomptables n’ont finalement fait qu’une bouchée de leurs adversaires malawites (3 – 0) sur la pelouse du stade Moulay El-Hassan de Rabat.

Sous les regards de Gianni Infantino, patron de la FIFA, et Patrice Motsepe, président de la Confédération africaine de football (CAF) et plusieurs convives, le Cameroun a réalisé une entrée tonitruante, en marquant assez tôt grâce à une tête de Marie Ngah qui a repris un premier ballon dégagé par la gardienne malawite Mercy Sikelo (20^e).

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Dix minutes après, les camerounaises doublent la marque, cette fois sur un joli retourné de Ndjoah Eto, suite à un corner de Myriam Nyadjou (30^e).

Inarrêtables en cette première période, les camerounaises vont sceller le résultat du match dans le temps additionnel avec un autre beau but, signé Marie Ngah de la tête sur un centre bien adressé par Ndjoah Eto qui a précédé la sortie de la gardienne du Malawi (45^e+3^e).

Pris vraiment à la gorge, les protégées de Lovemore Fazili n’ont jamais réussi à revenir dans le match, malgré la débauche d’énergie des coéquipières de Temwa Chawinga qui a complètement raté le cadre sur un ballon repoussé par la gardienne Michaely Bihina (61^e).

Sa sœur Tabitha Chawinga avait cru quelques minutes auparavant obtenir un penalty car prise en sandwich par deux joueuses camerounaises dans la surface, mais l’intervention de la VAR a écarté toute faute sur la capitaine du Malawi (50^e).

Le reste de la partie a été maitrisée par les joueuses de Valentine Nguele qui ont su gérer le jeu et ont même rajouté un quatrième but dans le temps additionnel par la remplaçante Gabrielle Onguéné, avant qu’il ne soit annulé pour une position d’hors-jeu.

Avec cette victoire méritée, le Cameroun devient la quatrième nation à avoir décrocher le titre continental après le Nigéria (10 trophées), la Guinée Equatoriale (2) et l’Afrique du Sud (1) et met fin à une mauvaise série de trois finales perdues face aux Super Falcons en 2004, 2014 et 2016, au grand bonheur du président de la FECAFOOT Samuel Eto’o fils.

Quant au Malawi, et pour sa première participation à une phase finale d’une CAN, il a mérité tous les honneurs, surtout après avoir éliminé des sélections comme le Ghana (2 – 1) en quart de finale et l’Algérie (3 – 1) en demi-finales.

Tableau d’honneur final :

• Champion d’Afrique : Cameroun.
• Vice-champion et médaille d’argent : Malawi.
• Troisième et médaille de bronze : Algérie.
• Meilleure joueuse : Monique Ngock (Cameroun).
• Meilleure buteuse – Soulier d’Or : Temwa Chawinga (Malawi) avec 5 buts.
• Meilleure gardienne de but – Gants d’Or : Michaely Bihina (Cameroun).

L’article Les Lionnes Indomptables enfin sacrées championnes d’Afrique est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.