South African Rugby Union president Brian van Rooyen and three other top officials in the organisation face a possibly crippling blow to their leadership positions when a special general council meeting of SA Rugby is called within the next 10 days. At that meeting, the positions of SA Rugby’s top brass will come under intense scrutiny.
Australian Open champion Marat Safin became embroiled in an argument with an old friend and the umpire before crashing out of the second round of the Masters Series in Hamburg on Wednesday. The volatile Russian lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former French Open champion from Spain.
Mamelodi Sundowns kept up their hopes of finishing second in the Castle Premiership after they scored a hard-fought 1-0 win over Supersport United in a Tshwane derby played at Loftus on Wednesday night. The winner came from a diving header from Downs’ new teenage sensation Lerato Chabangu.
Dutch master Dennis Bergkamp staked his claim for one final contract as the Gunners demolished Everton 7-0 at Highbury in London on Wednesday. His sublime hand in scoring one and creating three Gunners goals may be enough to convince boss Arsene Wenger he deserves an extended spell.
Fast-bowler Charl Langeveldt claimed three wickets in as many balls in the final over on Wednesday and bowled South Africa to a one-run victory over the West Indies in the third one-day cricket international at Kensington Oval. The victory gave South Africa an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Africa should unite to ensure that it secures the two permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council rather than fighting ”like dogs for a bone that cannot be seen”, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Wednesday. ”We will not bad-mouth other countries to get the seats,” she said.
Nelson Mandela metro mayor Nceba Faku was on his way on Thursday to a protest by Port Elizabeth residents demanding houses, police said. ”The crowd was told that the mayor is on his way,” said a police spokesperson. The group demanded that Faku talk to them about the houses he promised, but never delivered.
Police warned Pretoria businesses on Thursday to beware of criminals using stolen cheques to buy goods costing thousands of rands. The scam artists, who usually purport to be professional people in order to win the trust of their victims, place telephonic orders and request the companies’ bank particulars to ”deposit” money.
Ernie Els looks as though he belongs with the other stars at the Byron Nelson Championship. The Big Easy is part of the ”Big Four”. The top four players in the world ranking are past champions at Lord Byron’s tournament, and all have three wins this year. Els just hasn’t done it on the PGA Tour.
Gautrain CEO Jack van der Merwe is optimistic that the R8-billion Gautrain project will be completed in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. ”How do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite,” Van der Merwe said at a meeting of the SA Association of Consulting Engineers.