Gary Lemke has a look ahead to the weekend’s action as the race for the Champions League places heats up in the Premier League, while Durban comes to a standstill for the Nedbank Cup final.
RACE FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TIGHTENS UP
Squeaky bum time has arrived for those clubs fighting it out for a spot in the top five of the English Premier League at the end of the season, which is three matches away.
Those top five will be in Champions League action next season and for now, only Liverpool are guaranteed that. Arsenal are all but there, surely, while Man City have struck form belatedly, but at a good time for their Champions League qualification prospects.
Which leaves Newcastle (63pts), Chelsea (63pts), Nottingham Forest (61pts) and Aston Villa (60pts) fighting it out for the two remaining slots. And Newcastle host Chelsea in what is the ultimate six-pointer this weekend.
In those terms, it could be argued it’s even bigger than Sunday’s showdown at Anfield between Liverpool and Arsenal, where the Gunners are going to give the champions a guard of honour.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO MOSES MABHIDA
The “house full” signs were already up on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium, with the online platform that was selling tickets when they opened, crashing under the load.
We were then told that all 56,000 tickets had been scooped up in 90 minutes. General access tickets were R150 – as an aside prices for the Springboks vs BaaBaas at Cape Town Stadium start at R500 and increase to over R3000 – and proves again that when it comes to a Soweto derby, the demand doesn’t depend on where the teams play.
SA SIDES TO MAKE A CLEAN SWEEP THIS URC ROUND
After the seismic shock of Leinster being dumped out of the European Champions Cup by Northampton last week, we’re back to United Rugby Championship action, where we have two rounds remaining before the top eight of the 16 teams on the log go through to the quarter-finals.
We basically know that the Bulls (3rd), Hollywoodbets Sharks (4th) and Stormers (6th) will be in the knockouts, while the Lions (13th) will be watching on TV. All of the Sharks (vs Ospreys), Bulls (vs Cardiff) and Stormers (vs Dragons) should continue winning ways as we start working out quarter-final permutations.
The Lions should also beat the Dragons. A full house of South African wins is expected: For every R20 you put on that to happen, you’d get R33 back in return.
SNAITH FULL OF INTENT AHEAD OF ‘JULY’
Champion trainer Justin Snaith is a man on a mission in KwaZulu-Natal, and three of his horses from last week’s Champions Season opener at Hollywoodbets Greyville – Sail The Seas, Eight On Eighteen and Great Plains – all caught the eye to follow in the next couple of months.
On Saturday, he saddles four of the leading five runners in the betting for the Grade 2 WSB 1900 at the same course. Okhavango is the 2-1 favourite, with Native Ruler, Future Swing and Underworld all in the betting, split by Holding Thumbs.
This race has often proved a pointer to the Hollywoodbets Durban July, so punters need to pay close attention to weights, luck in running and jockey engagements relating to this feature race.
BABY BOKS TO FALL SHORT IN U20 CHAMPS
Now, don’t make the mistake of confusing the Under-20 Rugby Championship With the World Rugby Under-20 Championship, right? The former concludes this weekend in Gqeberha, and features the Baby Boks, and Baby All Blacks, Baby Wallabies and Baby Pumas. The latter is at the end of June, a 12-team affair.
This local one is a six-match event, with each team playing the other once and the champions being whoever tops the table. The Baby Boks opened by beating Argentina, but then lost to Australia and next face a New Zealand team on Sunday that drew with Australia before swamping Argentina 75-21. Either NZ or Australia will lift the trophy.
A tough second half in Gqeberha for the #JuniorBoks in the second round of #TRCU20 - match report: https://t.co/bf7CoblcwV 😳
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) May 6, 2025
#JourneyToGreatness pic.twitter.com/RxVyDlwj04
IPL STARTS TO EDGE INTO PLAYOFF TERRITORY
Fifty-eight round-robin matches down, as 12 remaining in the Indian Premier League, where the betting market suggests it’s still flip-a-coin stuff as to who will eventually be crowned champions. Mumbai Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings are all quoted at between 5-2 and 7-2 to lift the trophy.
The “six-counter” is on 970 heading into Friday, so the 1,000th six could be hit the weekend. Gujarat Titans have welcomed Kagiso Rabada back into their family after he served a one-month ban for being a naughty boy during the SA2,0 where he tested positive for a prohibited substance.
