All Blacks coach has ‘no issue’ with Bok scrums in Soweto, vows to bo…

After kicking up a fuss about the scrums in the second Test, All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said he had “no issue” with the Springbok scrums in their third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry match in Soweto on Saturday. fishroad-app.com

South Africa won the third match 29-24 to gain an unassailable 2-1 lead before the final Test in Baltimore, with scrum penalties finally being awarded by referee Nika Amashukeli helping them gain momentum after several collapsed New Zealand scrums went unpunished by Angus Gardner in the second Test in Cape Town.

Rennie complained about the scrums in the second Test, as a narrative formed about the Springboks allegedly “walking around” the scrums, and Rennie asked World Rugby for clarity on the matter.

The Springboks vehemently denied the claims.

After the third Test, Rennie accepted that the scrums were performed and officiated fairly, even as the Springboks earned a penalty try through one in the first half.

All Blacks happy with scrums

“So no issues with that,” the All Blacks coach said simply, adding that they will have to do better at the set-piece in Baltimore on the weekend.

“Our lineout was strong tonight… the room is pretty gutted. There are a lot of heads down. There’s no doubt our mindset will be to bounce back next week.

“We’re flying on a plane together tonight, which is a little bit different. I said to Rassie we’d have a beer afterwards regardless of the result. So we’ll do that.”

Rennie said his team lost the game through their own fault, being unable to maintain their tempo from the first half after they made so many errors and infringements that the Boks were able to slow the game down with scrums, which they used for penalties, possession and opportunities.

Savea ruled out

On the injury front, regular captain Ardie Savea will miss the fourth Test after suffering a shoulder injury. It was a heavy blow for the team after he played brilliantly to score their first two tries.

“He certainly won’t be travelling to the States. He was massive. But Wallace [Sititi] came on and played well. We certainly won’t use that as an excuse.”

Centre Quinn Tupaea also suffered a knee injury. Rennie said they were not sure of the extent of it, and it may even be a serious MCL injury. They do not know whether Tupaea will be able to play yet.

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is expecting a tough test against La Cure Waves in the CAF Champions League first preliminary round and has called on his players to approach the encounter with maximum respect.

The Buccaneers will kickstart their continental campaign with a trip to the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex to face the Mauritius outfit on Sunday afternoon.

Pirates will come into this fixture high in confidence after their comfortable 4-0 victory over Kruger United in the Betway Premiership.

Ouaddou has praised the warm welcome his side received in Mauritius but insists the Buccaneers must remain focused ahead of their CAF Champions League clash.

“The preparations for the game went very well, the welcome in the fantastic country was perfect, and thank you for the warm welcome,” Ouaddou said as per IDiskiTimes.

“We are expecting a difficult game against the champions of the country [Mauritius], so for us it is important to take that game very seriously and not underestimate any team.

“You know the Champions League, it’s something special, people are playing with motivation, they are playing with the fighting spirit. So hopefully we come here with a lot of ambition and to get the results here.”

The post Ouaddou Calls for Focus as Pirates Begin CAF CL Campaign appeared first on SportsClub.

If you float around in the background of most South African sports, people have all sorts of complaints, but there’s not much they can do other than whisper things to each other without being overheard.

Athletes, coaches, agents. Many of them are unhappy with certain issues, but they are forced to suck it up and get on with it. And the most frustrating thing is that they don’t get much in return.

In many sports, professional athletes are not contracted by federations, they don’t earn salaries from governing bodies and they don’t have trade unions.

This is not the case in all codes. In more popular team sports, including football, rugby and cricket, professional players are contracted and protected. They receive salaries and they are able to join unions.

But individuals competing in most sports receive none of these benefits, and they’re still beholden to federations.

Consequences for speaking up

If athletes are found to have brought federations into disrepute by speaking out against governing bodies, they face possible suspensions or restrictions, and their entire careers can be derailed.

Even the hands of government officials are tied because, if they are found to be interfering in sport, national federations can be suspended by international governing bodies.

So what do athletes do if they feel they are being mistreated? They can’t speak up and are often left stranded.

Following her retirement from competitive swimming, four-time Olympic medallist Tatjana Smith is now speaking out, protected by the fact that her career can’t be affected by voicing her frustration.

According to Smith, her prize money from the 2023 World Aquatics Championships had been withheld by Swimming South Africa for a full year. And when she did get paid, Smith was reportedly not given any of the interest which had accrued over that lengthy period, which resulted in the former elite swimmer taking legal action.

Athletes should not be muzzled

She is not the first individual who has been brave enough to stand up, but many athletes in similar situations in various codes have just kept quiet, which is understandable considering the potential consequences.

Even if federations aren’t able to offer athletes contracts and can’t afford to pay them salaries, which would allow them to join trade unions, something needs to be done to create a platform where individuals can speak up without the fear of facing severe backlash.

If athletes are being poorly treated, they shouldn’t be muzzled, and they shouldn’t have to wait until they’ve retired before speaking up and exposing alleged tyrannical behaviour.

Professional athletes who carry the national flag deserve better treatment, and they need to be given a more powerful voice.

L’ASO Chlef et le CS Constantine, longtemps menés au score par leurs adversaires respectifs samedi soir, dans le cadre de la première journée de L1 , ont réussi à revenir et à arracher des nuls inespérés, respectivement (3-3) contre le CR Belouizdad et (1-1) face au CR Aïn Témouchent.

Les Chélifiens étaient bien rentrés dans leur match et avaient réussi à faire la différence d’entrée de jeu, grâce notamment à leur buteur-maison, Zoubir Motrani, auteur d’un doublé aux 1ere et 6e. Mais c’était sans compter sur la force de caractère des Belouizdadis, ayant commencé par réduire le score à la 13e minute de jeu, par l’intermédiaire de Djaber Kaassis, avant d’accepter à bras ouverts le cadeau du défenseur chélifien Abdallah Debbari, auteur d’un mais contre son propre camp à la vingtième minute de jeu. Galvanisés par cette égalisation, et sur leur lancé, les visiteurs ont réussi à ajouter un troisième mais juste avant la pause, grâce à leur recrue estivale Franck Etouga (42e).

En deuxième mi-temps, les deux équipes ont continué à jouer l’attaque à outrance, avec la ferme intention d’inscrire d’autres buts. La chance a finalement souri aux Chérifiens, ayant réussi à égaliser, grâce à Bekkouche (70e), et malgré plusieurs autres tentatives, de parties et d’autres, la partition est restée inchangée jusqu’au coup de sifflet final. Un peu plus tôt dans l’après-midi, le CS Constantine avait réussi à repartir avec un bon résultat nul (1-1) de son déplacement chez le nouveau promu, le CR Aïn Témouchent.

Les locaux étaient les premiers à trouver le chemin des filets et dès la cinquième minute de jeu, par l’intermédiaire de Boumediene Friefer, mais à force d’insister, les Sanafir ont fini par arracher l’égalisation à la 69e, grâce à l’excellent Nassim El Ghoul, qui venait de faire son entrée en jeu. Le bal de cette première journée s’était ouvert jeudi, avec le déroulement des deux premières rencontres inscrites à son programme, et qui avaient tourné l’une comme l’autre à l’avantage des clubs visiteurs.

L’Olympique Akbou l’avait emporté (2-0) chez le nouveau promu, la JS El Biar, grâce aux réalisations d’Addadi, sur penalty à la 57e, et Harouna (90e+3), alors que l’ES Ben Aknoun avait réussi à surprendre l’Aigle noir sétifien, dans son antre du 8-Mai-1945, grâce à Djabout, auteur d’un tir bien placé à la 78e minute de jeu. Les péripéties de cette première journée s’étaient poursuivies vendredi, avec le déroulement de deux autres matchs, ayant connu des enjeux relativement logiques, avec d’un côté la victoire à domicile de la JS Kabylie face au MB Rouissat (1-0), et le nul ramené par l’USM Alger de son déplacement chez l’ESM Khenchela (0-0).

Les Canaris l’ont emporté grâce à leur nouvelle recrue Abdennour Belhocini, auteur d’un tir bien placé à la 36e minute de jeu, alors que le MBR avait pratiquement disputé toute la seconde période en infériorité numérique, après l’expulsion de son défenseur Hamza Salem à la 50e. Il est utile de souligner également que le score vierge à Khenchela ne reflète pas la vraie physionomie de cette rencontre, car les deux équipes avaient beaucoup essayé, tout au long des 90 minutes, sauf que la réussite n’était pas au rendez-vous, ni d’un côté, ni de l’autre.

Cette première journée de L1 s’achèvera le mardi 22 septembre courant, avec le déroulement des deux derniers matchs inscrits à son programme. Il s’agit des chocs MC Alger – MC Oran et US Biskra – JS Saoura, rapportés en raison de la participation du MCA et de la JSS au premier tour préliminaire de la Ligue des champions d’Afrique.

Le club algérois sera opposé dimanche à l’ASN Nigelec du Niger, alors que le club bécharois a déjà fait son entrée en lice dans la compétition. Il a dominé la formation guinéenne du Horoya Conakry (1-0), en match disputé vendredi, au stade Miloud-Hadefi d’Oran.

ABDELHAFID MEHENNI

L’article ALG : Une parité inespérée pour Chlef et Constantine est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.

Le 5 septembre 2021, Mamadi Doumbouya et ses forces spéciales renversaient le président Alpha Condé. Le militaire promettait alors une “refondation” de l’État et un retour du pouvoir aux civils. Cinq ans plus tard, il a troqué l’uniforme de chef de la junte contre celui de président élu. Entre transformation politique, ambitions économiques et minières, mais aussi répression et inquiétudes sur les libertés publiques : que reste-t-il des promesses du 5 septembre 2021 ?