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Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus have revealed why the Springboks decided to take four scrum-halves to the 2023 Rugby World Cup. It was one of the standout calls when the 33-man squad was announced in August ahead of the global tournament in France. South Africa selected Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Grant Williams and Jaden Hendrikse for the World Cup in a move which surprised many. Supporters were confused by the decision as it meant they lacked cover in other areas, especially hooker and fly-half, but the coaches explained their reasoning in the new documentary, Chasing the Sun 2. Versatility According to Nienamber, the…
Who has landed the most drop goals for the Springboks and who has slotted the most in a single Test? Take a guess! The Springboks’ dominant pack of forwards over the decades has often laid the platform for the flyhalf on the day to drop back into the pocket and land a match-winning drop goal. Or five … One may immediately associate Naas Botha as being the country’s king of the drop goal – and you wouldn’t be wrong. Botha’s peak years coincided with South Africa’s sporting isolation and it reduced his international career to just 28 Tests between 1980 and 1992. But Botha, now 66 years…
Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber is looking to take the knowledge gleaned from the Springboks into their mammoth Champions Cup quarter-final against La Rochelle. More specifically, the ex-South Africa head coach will be aiming to help the Irish province get over their knockout stage frustrations which have held them back over recent times. Despite having the most talented squad in the competition over the past few years, they have not won the Champions Cup since 2018. La Rochelle hoodoo La Rochelle had beaten Leo Cullen’s team in the previous two championship games, and the French team had also dashed their hopes in…
Eric Dier has now been reacting to what he’s been hearing said about Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy recently. Daniel Levy has been Tottenham chairman since he replaced Alan Sugar in 2001, now the long-serving boss in the Premier League.Of course, Eric Dier’s long stint at Spurs was all under Levy’s stewardship, a relationship that seems very strong to this day. And whilst it seems it was made pretty clear to Dier that he was welcome to leave the club last summer, it doesn’t seem like any bridges have burned. Dier actually jumped to Levy’s defense when they recently spoke…
FORMER Celtic goal hero Chris Sutton has waded into the Ibrox penalty-kick controversy by labelling the antics of Rangers striker Fabio Silva as “embarrassing”. The on-loan Wolves player appeared to have taken a theatrical dive to earn his side a penalty-kick shortly after the interval with the champions leading 2-0 in Sunday’s dramatic six-goal stalemate. Referee John Beaton originally booked the Portiguese forward for yet another dive after he had collpased following a challenge from Alistair Johnston. Amazingly, VAR officlal Nick Walsh instructed his colleague to review the incident on his touchline monitor and the whistler returned to to the…
Eric Dier reveals the lack of ‘tactical’ training under Postecoglou at Tottenham Eric Dier has declared that he trained under Ange Postecoglou, the Australian manager of Tottenham Hotspur, during his tenure at the team. The 30-year-old disclosed that the former Celtic manager does not dedicate his training sessions to tactical work. The England international ended his ten-year tenure at North London last winter when he signed a first loan deal to Bayern Munich and moved to Germany. The center-back made 365 appearances for the Lilywhites, demonstrating his devotion to the team. During his tenure at the team, Dier became a…
Tottenham Hotspur are the potential kingmakers in the Premier League title race The Premier League is enjoying one of the closest seasons in its recent history as three undeniably outstanding teams compete for the top spot. While the race to the Premiership intensifies, Tottenham Hotspur could have an integral role to play in the outcome of the season’s Champions, whichever of the three wins. Spurs are undergoing a significant transformation under manager Ange Postecoglou, and since he took over the North Londoners last summer, they have made incredible strides.As the club has transformed from one of the faltering major names…
The search for a starting point guard continues for Dusty May. Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines remain active in the transfer portal, as they have contacted Kobe Elvis — a 6-foot-2 guard who is a grad transfer. Elvis has one season of eligibility remaining after starting his career in 2019-20 with DePaul. After his freshman season, Elvis transferred to Dayton. He has been a starter the last three years, playing in 86 total games. In 2023-24, the Flyers were an NCAA Tournament team that finished third in the WCC and won 25 games. As a starter of all 33 games this…
The biggest criticism of J.J. McCarthy is out of his control. But those who watched McCarthy closely at Michigan know it is fair. McCarthy, a polarizing quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, does not have the same statistical resume as top signal-callers like Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. Of those four quarterbacks, the consensus top four, McCarthy finished with the fewest passing yards in 2023, and by a wide margin. He also threw nearly 100 fewer passes than Maye, who attempted the most (425) of the quartet, and 50 fewer than Williams (388). “It’s real, right?” Aaron…
The Lady Vols hired a Kim Caldwell who isn’t even the most well-known Kim Caldwell. Could it work? Sure. But it’s a risk. A big risk. Say this for Kim Caldwell: She wins big at places where that doesn’t come easily. Danny White hiring an outside-the-box candidate fits Tennessee AD’s hiring strategy. Kentucky women’s basketball hired a more proven coach than the Lady Vols. Whatever else I might think about Tennessee’s hire of Kim Caldwell of Marshall, this is indisputable: Kentucky, a program that’s never reached a Final Four, hired a coach, Kenny Brooks, who reached the Final Four a year ago. Tennessee,…