This week Gary Lemke has a look at the highly-anticipated Euro 2024 set to get under way in Germany, while the Proteas top-order will be aiming for a big performance in the T20 World Cup.
FOOTBALL FEAST AS EUROS GET UNDER WAY
Hosts Germany take on Scotland in the opening match of Euro 2024 on Friday night and that kick starts group matches that are being played every day until the 26th of June.
We have previously seen that when it comes to big football tournaments you can throw world rankings out of the window. Arguably, the biggest game of the weekend is between Spain and Croatia on Saturday, given they also have Italy in that group. It’s a particularly strong Euros this year with eight of Fifa’s top 10-ranked countries doing battle. France (No2), Belgium (No3) and England (No4) lead the charge.
PROTEAS TOP-ORDER DUE TO GO BIG
Surely, just surely, the Proteas batsmen will click during the T20 World Cup, because they have been carried through to the Super Eights by their bowlers. That could be argued for a lot of teams given the pitches in the USA are tricky and the outfields sluggish, but Saturday’s game against Nepal has to be one where early wickets aren’t lost, whether it’s setting a target or chasing.
The minnows have only played once – losing by six wickets to the Netherlands – with rain washing out their game against Sri Lanka. It’s hard to get a formline with them but South Africa should be able to flex their muscles with a bit of a swagger.
FOURIE PUTS HIS NAME UP IN LIGHTS
Jockey Richard Fourie last week went past Anthony Delpech’s record wins for a season and looked to add to his own growing total of 337 this weekend, starting at Fairview on Friday. He’s aboard the favourite, My Soul Mate, in Saturday’s feature at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
In digesting the enormity of his achievement, beating a record that stood for 25 years, I put it in the same category as “untouchable” records with three others: Gary Player’s nine Majors, Brice Fordyce’s nine Comrades wins and Wayde van Niekerk’s world record 43.03 for 400m. Let’s hope the government is listening when they make their choice for SA’s Sport Star awards for 2024.
BULLS TO BOOK FINAL SPOT – BUT WHERE?
Bulls coach Jake White might well have been reading our blog from earlier this week when he asked fans to ensure that Leinster know that they’re in a rugby-mad country ahead of their United Rugby Championship semi-final at Loftus on Saturday.
The combination of travelling to South Africa, taking on the country’s current best franchise, at Loftus and at altitude, all points to a win for the hosts. They will be hoping that the Glasgow Warriors somehow pull off an upset at Munster in the other semi-final, otherwise the Bulls themselves will have to travel for the final.
TIME FOR MCILROY TO REGAIN FOCUS
The men’s US Open is well into the business part of the event, held at the famous Pinehurst No2 course. The two South Africans who will fly the country’s flag at the Paris Olympics – Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen – were joined in the field by the ultra-talented Casey Jarvis and LIV Golf high-flyer Dean Burmester.
However, off course developments dominated the build-up as Rory McIlroy ditched plans to divorce his wife and announced the couple had reconciled. Not jumping to conclusions here, but when Tiger Woods divorced Elin Nordegren, it cost him $ 750 million in the settlement.
KNAPP FANCIED TO WIN IBO TITLE
If combat sports is your bag, then there’s a UFC fight night taking place this weekend where Tatsuro Taira, with an unblemished 15-0-0 record, is favourite to defeat Alex Perez 25-8-0 in a flyweight contest in Las Vegas. Closer to home, at Emperors Palace, is a night of boxing, hyped as “No Mercy”.
Headlining the bill is local favourite Roarke Knapp against Jorge Garcia Perez. I’ll be having a small bet here, that Knapp wins on points over 12 rounds. At stake is the vacant IBO junior-middleweight belt, hence the scheduled 12 rounds.
