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/ 16 October 2005
The Blue Bulls reached a fourth consecutive Currie Cup final with a hard-fought, come-from-behind 31-23 semifinal victory over the Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening. The Lions led 17-16 at the break, but should have been further ahead after outplaying the defending champions in most facets in the first 40 minutes.
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/ 15 October 2005
Pumas fullback Casper Steyn completed a perfect kicking display to spur his team to a 25-16 victory over the Falcons in the final of the Currie Cup first division at the Bosman Stadium in Brakpan on Friday night. The Falcons led 13-9 at the interval. Steyn contributed 20 points via five penalties, a conversion and a drop-goal.
While the Spar South African women’s hockey team cantered to victory in their Africa Cup of Nations final, the men’s final between South Africa and Egypt was a thrilling affair that went right down to the wire. The men had to weather an immense effort from the Egyptians as the two teams ended full-time goalless.
South Africa’s men and women’s hockey teams won easily on Sunday on day two of the African Cup of Nations hockey tournament at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria. The women crushed Namibia 9-0, with Western Province’s Kate Hector scoring a fine hat-trick.
The Lions edged the Cheetahs 37-36 in a thrilling Currie Cup encounter played in front of a small but appreciative crowd at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday evening. Nine tries were scored in all — five by the visitors — as both teams threw caution to the wind in their bid to qualify for the semifinals.
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/ 17 September 2005
The Leopards pushed the Lions all the way before succumbing 44-27 in an entertaining Currie Cup premier-division encounter at Ellis Park on Friday night. The home team earned a bonus point for scoring five tries, while the visitors scored two on an evening when both teams left tries on the table.
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/ 1 September 2005
Besieged South African Rugby Union president Brian van Rooyen has lashed out at vice-president Mike Stofile and president’s council member Oregan Hoskins for what he termed ”wild pronouncements”. Van Rooyen’s hastily convened press conference on Wednesday proved to be a show of defiance by the beleaguered rugby boss.
Several hundred boisterous fans turned out to greet their Springbok heroes upon the Boks’ arrival at Johannesburg International airport on Monday evening. ”What this team has achieved in the last 18 months is huge,” a visibly pleased Jake White told journalists at a press conference.
Has Andre Markgraaff already resigned from his post as South African Rugby Union deputy president, or not? This was the question being asked late on Sunday amid conflicting media reports earlier in the day. While some of these suggested the controversial Markgraaff had already left his post, others reported he would make his final decision only on Monday.
Springbok coach Jake White played down the ecstasy in the aftermath of his team’s nerve-racking Tri-Nations victory over the All Blacks at Newlands on Saturday. While the 49 118 fans crammed into Newlands erupted at the final whistle to celebrate one of the Boks’ finest performances in recent memory, White preferred to remain focussed. After failing to gain a bonus point from their two home matches, the Boks will, in all likelihood, need a rare away victory if they hope to retain the trophy — a point that is not lost on the coac