PRESIDENT Jacques Chirac discussed African trouble spots with his counterpart from Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, during a meeting that lasted more than an hour on Thursday. The leaders touched on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and regional conflicts in general, Mugabe said following the meeting. ”We discussed bilateral cooperation between our two […]

SOUTH African Airways announced on Friday it will provide 14 round-trip flights each week in line with the new SAA-Delta services between South Africa and the United States. The service will begin on February 1. Three flights will operate non-stop from Atlanta to Cape Town each week, returning direct from Cape Town to Atlanta with […]

ALL Black kicking machine Andrew Mehrtens will start for New Zealand in their Rugby World Cup semi-final against France on Sunday, New Zealand media reported. Mehrtens had been in doubt since damaging his left knee at the bottom of a ruck during the All Blacks’ 30-18 quarter-final win over Scotland last weekend. But Mehrtens’ knee […]

KWAZULU-NATAL dominated the second day’s play of the four-day SuperSport Series match against Western Province at Newlands on Friday, thanks to a solid 135-run partnership from skipper Dale Benkenstein and Errol Stewart. The two took the score from 129 for three to 264 before Benkenstein was excellently caught at third-man by Ryan Joffe for 71. […]

VETERAN Wallaby centre Tim Horan is in doubt for Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa at Twickenham after being laid low by a stomach virus. Horan was up all night with nausea and stayed at the team hotel to recuperate while the rest of the team trained on Friday morning. Team doctor John Best […]

BILL BARCLAY, London | Friday 9.00am. WORLD Champions South Africa and Australia will provide two very different versions of southern hemisphere rugby at Twickenham this Saturday when they battle for a place in the World Cup final. The contrast in style of the two sides is encapsulated in the fly-half contest between South Africa’s Jannie […]

YOUNG twenty-somethings James Bryant and Justin Kemp both bettered their own first class bests as Eastern Province took control of their Supersport Series match against Easterns at St Georges Park on Friday. At the close, the hosts had reached 344 for six — an overall lead of 60 — with Kemp still unbeaten at the […]

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki says the Springboks were the best in a letter wishing the team well in their World Cup semi-final clash against the Wallabies. “I am convinced you are world champions,” Mbeki wrote in a letter addressed to captain Joost van der Westhuizen. “The whole world looks up to you as such.” Mbeki added: […]

SOLID batting, superb bowling and the news that Makhaya Ntini was a free man conspired to help Border take command of their Supersport Series match against Griqualand West at Buffalo Park on Friday. After the news had filtered through that Ntini had won his appeal against a rape conviction, Border celebrated by piling up a […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Saturday 12.00pm. THE Springboks have built up an unstoppable momentum four years ago that propelled them to victory in the World Cup. Skipper Joost van der Westhuizen says he senses a similar momentum building among the current side. The Springboks face southern hemisphere rivals Australia in the first semi-final at Twickenham […]