Banyana Banyana got off to a disastrous campaign in the African Women Nations Cup, suffering an embarrassing 3-0 defeat by Ghana at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. It was a well-deserved victory for the Black Queens of Ghana, who were all over South Africa from the first whistle.

Supersport United came back from the brink of defeat to eliminate Wits University from the lucrative SAA Supa 8 Cup competition by a narrow 6-5 win on penalties at the Olympia Stadium on Saturday. Their suburban derby was a dull affair played before an almost-capacity crowd.

American Bernard Hopkins knocked out compatriot Oscar de la Hoya with a left hook to the body in the ninth round in Las Vegas on Saturday to retain the undisputed world middleweight title. Hopkins, already owner of the WBC, WBA and IBF titles, added De la Hoya’s lightly regarded WBO title to his list.

David Beckham was dropped by Real Madrid on Saturday but the Spanish giants still saw their season spiral into crisis as Espanyol handed them a 1-0 defeat just three days after they were destroyed by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. Coach Jose Antonio Camacho also dropped skipper Raul.

West Indies will require another 227 runs from 44 overs to beat South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy Pool B game in London at the Oval on Sunday and go through to the semifinals of the competition. Saturday’s play was suspended because of rain after South Africa had scored 246-6 from 50 overs.

The Blue Bulls stacked up 58 points in an awesome display of rugby when they defeated an outclassed Puma side 58-14 in their Absa Currie Cup match on Saturday. The Bulls dominated all phases of play and scored tries through the forwards, the backs, via interplay between the two and on the counter attack.

Champions Arsenal dropped their first points of the English Premiership season on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Bolton Wanderers at Highbury. Meanwhile, Mark Hughes enjoyed a winning start to his reign as Blackburn Rovers manager as his side saw off Portsmouth 1-0 at Ewood Park.

Western Province had to wait till the dying seconds to secure a win of 29-25 against the Cheetahs in their Absa Currie Cup match on Saturday, after leading 17-6 at half-time. Neil de Kock (scrumhalf), Breyton Paulse (wing) and Jean de Villiers (centre) made the difference between the two sides.

Sudan will abide by a United Nations resolution calling on Khartoum to restore security to the troubled Darfur region or face possible sanctions, although it regards the resolution as ”unfair”, according to a statement published in Khartoum on Sunday. The Sudanese Cabinet will meet on Sunday to discuss the resolution.