The Brumbies were given a major scare by the Cats in a pulsating Vodacom Super 12 encounter at Ellis Park on Saturday night, but they managed to hold on in the dying seconds for a narrow 34-29 win. The Australians certainly were worried as the Cats took the game to them throughout and particularly in the closing five minutes.
The Leopards pulled off a superb 48-41 (half-time 27-20) victory over the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday, with Leopards wing Ronnie Cooke scoring a hat-trick as his team ran in seven tries against the competition’s defending champions. In another matches on Saturday, the Pumas beat the Eagles 55-21 in George.
No one among the stunned crowd of 26 000 spectators at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday night could have expected such a bad start for the beleaguered Sharks in their Super 12 rugby match against the Highlanders from New Zealand as they reeled back from three hammer blows within the first 11 minutes.
Chelsea edged closer to their first title in 50 years with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Manchester United and Arsenal also won in the fight for second place. Newcastle couldn’t continue their European form, drawing 1-1 with Portsmouth. Also, Manchester City lost 2-1 at Tottenham.
Jamie Noon’s try hat-trick was the centrepiece of England’s 43-22 victory over Scotland as the world champions finished the Six Nations by retaining the Calcutta Cup in London at Twickenham on Saturday. But the victory was a sorry consolation for the fact they finished fourth in the table.
Former world number one Kim Clijsters captured her second Indian Wells WTA title in three years on Saturday, capping a remarkable run in just her second tournament back from injury. The 21-year-old Belgian continued her stranglehold on American Lindsay Davenport by beating the world number one 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the final.
Defending champ Roger Federer posted his tour-leading 25th victory of 2005 on Saturday to set up a showdown with Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Indian Wells Masters Series event. Four-time grand-slam winner Federer fired seven aces en route to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Guillermo Canas in the first of two semifinals on Saturday.
Namibian President Sam Nujoma on Saturday hailed his country’s 15-year record of democracy and peace, as he gave his farewell speech to Parliament before he steps down. He praised the members of the former Constituent Assembly who elected him as head of state in 1990 and who drafted the country’s Constitution after its independence.
Department of Home Affairs offices will be open on the weekend starting from April 1, the department said on Saturday. ”This is to accommodate those who cannot visit our offices during the normal office hours by providing them with extra opportunities to access our services,” said a departmental spokesperson.
A British institution will this week rubbish France’s perennial claim that its unique soil and climatic conditions are responsible for producing some of the world’s finest wines. Two economists have concluded that environmental conditions are not important when it comes to producing memorable wine.