This week Gary has a look at the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Stormers facing a tough away trip in the United Rugby Championship, while the Proteas avoided the group of death in the T20 World Cup draw.
SHARKS, STORMERS FACE TOUGH AWAY GAMES
We’re into the third round of United Rugby Championship action and already results have shown how difficult it is to win away from home in this competition. Of the 14 games so far there have only been two away wins, and one of those was in a Welsh derby.
Which suggests that the Hollywoodbets Sharks (vs Dragons) and the Stormers (against Zebre) have tough assignments on the road, while the Lions (vs Edinburgh) and Bulls (vs Ulster) should benefit from home-ground advantage. Of course, sport isn’t as predictable, but the URC is unforgiving to visitors. Having said that, the bookies have made the away team favourites in five of the eight games, including the Sharks and the Stormers (both 3-10).
PROTEAS AVOID ‘GROUP OF DEATH’ IN T20 WORLD CUP
The ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup is up and running with South Africa’s first match on Friday against West Indies. There are two pools of five countries, and the Proteas will be buoyed by the fact they finished runners-up to Australia in last year’s event.
The format is that each country will play one another in the pool (four games) and then the top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals. South Africa needs to finish in the top two of Pool B, which includes West Indies, Bangladesh, England and Scotland. Pool A has the top three in the betting, Australia, England and India. The Proteas are 16-1 at this stage.
WHY VILLA NEED TO MAINTAIN MOMENTUM
There’s another International break coming up which means this weekend’s English Premiership round is the last before players go their separate ways. It’s also a round coming after a European week, which often throws up unpredictable results.
The most interesting EPL match is on Sunday when Aston Villa host Man United. Villa’s changing room will be bouncing after their defeat of Bayern Munich in the Champions League and they’re also only two points off the top of the log. They know how important beating United is to maintain the momentum going into the break. The sometimes banana skin Saturday lunchtime kickoff has Liverpool away to Crystal Palace.
STOP, START BUT PIRATES HAVE WINNING LOOK
The quirkiness of South Africa’s football fixture list means that just over a month since Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch won their semi-final ties they are now ready to square off in the final. And, after three rounds of Betway PSL action, there’d have been a month’s break in that competition as well.
In sport, as mentioned above, momentum is key, but it’s tough for teams to maintain consistency when fixtures are so haphazard. Pirates and Stellenbosch meet at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday and based on their perfect three-from-three wins in the League, Pirates will be strong favourites to lift the trophy for the third successive year and the 13th time in their history, only behind Kaizer Chiefs (15).
PEREIRA LOOKING TO PUT ON A SHOW
Dricus du Plessis will pull his chair closer to the TV to watch Alex Pereira square off in a potentially explosive UFC light-heavyweight title fight with Khalil Rountree in Salt Lake City on Sunday morning (SA time). Pereira (11 wins, 2 losses), is perhaps the most destructive striker in the sport and has said Du Plessis is in his sights.
The Brazilian reckons he would like to come down a division to tackle the South African who is king of the middleweights. That’s easier said than done, but for now, Pereira needs to focus on an opponent who has lost five times in 19 fights but is a fearsome come-forward fighter himself. You can get 6-1 on the fight going the full five rounds, which suggests you mustn’t put the kettle on once the action starts.
BEST OF SCOTTISH LINKS GOLF ON DISPLAY
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is one that DP World Tour professionals and celebrity amateurs alike look forward to each year. As a golfer, it’s a bucket list assortment of playing three courses – Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns Golf Links. Darren Fichardt is one of 27 South Africans in the 168-strong field and he started with a brilliant 61 on Thursday to lead.
However, given that there are three different courses of varying difficulty, it’s difficult to gauge who might emerge as a winning contender until we’re through 54 holes. Which might explain why Fichardy was as wide as 70-1 even after his first round of 11-under 61 at Kingsbarns, while Jon Rahm was a 9-4 favourite following his opening 65 at Carnoustie. For the TV viewer, it’s a wonderful glimpse into the world of Scottish Links golf.
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