Yearly Archives: 2003

The Sharks may have been pacesetters all season but they had to wait until the final second of their Currie Cup campaign to seal a berth in the final, when errant flyhalf Butch James kicked a match-winning penalty to give them a 28-25 win over the Cheetahs in a pulsating match played in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Kaiser Chiefs retained their unbeaten record by beating a determined Jomo Cosmos 1-0 in their hard-fought Premier Soccer League game at the FNB Stadium on Saturday. Chiefs led 1-0 at the break with midfielder Arthur Zwane, who was laid on by another midfielder, Tinashe Nengomasha, scoring just before the whistle.

Banyana Banyana massacred Namibia 13-0 in the first leg of the Olympic qualifier match played at Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday. The hosts took full advantage of Namibia’s inexperience to put themselves in a good position when they travel to their neighbours in the second round.

Manning Rangers shared a single point with their neighbours Lamontville Golden Arrows when they drew one-all in their Castle Premiership clash at Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday night. The home side led 1-0 at interval. This goal was put into the net by Bale Studzinsti in the 34th minute.

Western Province (WP) came close to suffering an embarrassing loss in their Currie Cup match against the Eagles on Saturday. Although they ultimately won 29-24, the home side heard shortly before kick-off that their slim chances of making it into the Currie Cup final had disappeared with the Sharks’ win over the Cheetahs.

Wales fought off Italy’s challenge to claim a quarterfinal spot at the Rugby World Cup with a 27-15 win in Pool D at Canberra Stadium on Saturday. It is the one-time rugby power’s third quarterfinal appearance in five World Cups and their ninth win in 10 encounters against Italy.

France booked their place in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup in Sydney on Saturday with a record-breaking 51-9 win over Pool B opponents Scotland at the Olympic Stadium. The Six Nations heavyweights confirmed their status as genuine tournament contenders in an awesome five-try performance.

Late tries by Iain Balshaw and Phil Vickery spared England the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history on Sunday as the hotly favoured stars scrambled a 35-22 victory over Samoa in easily the best game yet of the championship. The Samoans led 10-0 early and 16-13 at halftime.

Left-handed opener Imran Farhat hit an imperious hundred as Pakistan dominated South Africa on the second day of the second and final Test in Pakistan on Saturday. At close the home team reached 237-2, just 41 runs behind South Africa who were dismissed earlier for 278 in their first innings.

Redemption arrived for Irish rugby Sunday, four long years and 80 agonising minutes after their most harrowing World Cup defeat. Ireland held on for a thrilling 16-15 victory over Argentina at Adelaide Oval, avenging the loss that knocked them out of the 1999 tournament.