Kaizer Chiefs and Thabo Cele Go Separate Ways

Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed the departure of midfielder Thabo Cele after the club and player mutually agreed to terminate his contract. solvita.blog

Cele joined Amakhosi from Russian Premier League outfit FC Fakel Voronezh during the 2024-25 season.

The 29-year-old spent 18 month at the club in which he made 36 appearances across all competitions.

The Glamour Boys have since confirmed that the midfielder has mutually parted ways with the club.

“Kaizer Chiefs have terminated Thabo Cele’s contract by mutual agreement, following constructive discussions between both parties. The decision will allow Cele to pursue new opportunities while Amakhosi continue to reshape their squad for the 2026/27 season,” Chiefs announced.

“The KwaMashu-born midfielder joined the Glamour Boys in January 2025, bringing international experience from his time in Europe and with the South African national team, and made his debut in the Soweto Derby the following month.

“During his 18 months with Chiefs, he made a total of 36 appearances in domestic and CAF competitions. He also lifted the Nedbank Cup with the Club, fours month after his arrival.

“We thank “Induna Yendawo” for his commitment during his time at Kaizer Chiefs and wish him the very best in his future career.”

The post Kaizer Chiefs and Thabo Cele Go Separate Ways appeared first on SportsClub.

À quelques heures de retrouver la scène européenne, le Paris Saint-Germain aborde son prochain rendez-vous avec un effectif presque entièrement disponible.

Le club parisien a publié ce mardi son point médical, avec une seule absence à signaler avant la réception du Slovan Bratislava en Ligue des Champions.

Longoni, seul joueur à l’infirmerie

Le nom d’Alessandro Longoni est le seul à apparaître dans le communiqué médical du PSG. Le jeune portier italien poursuit sa période de soins après avoir ressenti une gêne au niveau du quadriceps gauche lors d’une rencontre disputée avec l’équipe Espoirs mercredi dernier.

Depuis cet incident, le gardien reste suivi par le staff médical parisien et n’a pas encore repris l’entraînement collectif.

Luis Enrique avec un groupe quasiment complet

Cette situation permet à Luis Enrique de préparer cette nouvelle échéance européenne avec une large partie de son effectif à disposition. Aucun autre joueur n’est actuellement annoncé comme indisponible par le club.

Un point médical particulièrement rassurant pour l’entraîneur parisien, à la veille d’une rencontre où le PSG cherchera à poursuivre sa campagne européenne dans les meilleures conditions.

Pour Longoni, en revanche, il faudra encore patienter avant de retrouver les terrains.

The post PSG – Slovan Bratislava : un seul absent avant le rendez-vous européen appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

England prop Kyle Sinckler has defended the Springbok scrum following accusations of illegal tactics by the All Blacks.

The battle up front has been the biggest flashpoint of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, with All Blacks coach Dave Rennie accusing the Boks of “walking around” at the set-piece after both the first and second Tests.

The Boks responded emphatically in the third Test at FNB Stadium, earning four scrum penalties and, late in the first half, decimating the All Blacks pack to win a penalty try.

WATCH: Power Bok scrum wins penalty try

Sinckler believes the accusations have only fired up a Bok scrum that has no need to cheat.

“All of the pressure that was put on [the Boks] by the New Zealand side in terms of walking around, wheeling around – I’ve never heard so much [about it],’ Sinckler said on the Biggar Thinking: Rugby Analysis podcast.

“But I think that kind of pressure from the outside really revved up the South African boys and they really put it to New Zealand in this Test.

“In my experience playing against South Africa, they’re not the type of team where they’re going to manipulate or mess around.

“Those big packs have got so much quality. They don’t need to manipulate or make something happen.

“They trust their processes. They trust their training. They trust the individuals that they have in the team, and even the people who aren’t in the team.

“How many games have they won in the past which have come down to their scrum?

“It might seem a bit strange from the outside looking in, but they’ve been in that situation where their scrum has won them World Cups, won them big tournaments.

“So for them, that is as guaranteed as taking the three points.”

ALSO: ‘Humble’ Kiwis look for scrum quick fix

There has also been debate over whether World Rugby is seeking to depower the scrum through law changes and the way existing laws are applied by referees.

Sinckler, though, is firmly against diminishing the contest and believes the attention generated by the Bok-All Blacks scrum battle has been good for the sport.

“The scrum is what makes rugby union rugby union.

“The set-piece, the lineout, the maul, the scrum, the ruck – it just highlights how important that part of the game is and why it should always be at the forefront of our game.

“Sometimes, which frustrates me, especially when you watch rugby on TV, you have commentators say, ‘Oh, we need to hurry this up. There needs to be a time on it.’

“It’s like, no. This is a contest. This is what rugby union is about. This is the game.

“That’s the contest, and it should be heightened. It should be bigged up like it has been throughout the series.

“I’m obviously always going to be biased, but I’ve absolutely loved it.”

The post ‘Boks don’t need to manipulate scrum’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Springbok centre Ethan Hooker is embracing the excitement of taking Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry to the USA, with the youngster relishing the chance to play a part in Saturday’s series decider against the All Blacks in Baltimore.

A delighted Rassie Erasmus shrugged off suggestions that his team had clinched a series victory over New Zealand following Saturday’s win at the FNB Stadium in Soweto.

The Boks defeated New Zealand 29-24 in front of a fanatic crowd of 86000 in Johannesburg to take a two-one lead in the series. Hours later, the two sides boarded the same plane to the USA, touching down in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon.

Should the Boks win Saturday’s Test at the M&T Bank Stadium, they will clinch the title, but victory for the All Blacks will see the teams draw the series on two victories apiece.

“Playing in front of close to 90 000 people in Soweto was awesome,” said Hooker after he was named Man of the Match in Saturday’s Test.

“The guys feeding off that atmosphere was something else, and next weekend is going to be awesome too.

“It’s a neutral venue so it’s going to be closer to 50-50 (in terms of the support), but it is my first time in America, and I’m looking forward to the experience.”

Hooker added: “We normally have the privilege of facing the All Blacks twice a year, but now we have the chance to play them four times back-to-back. It’s tough mentally and physically, but we are all honoured and really privileged to be able to face such a prestigious team four times in a row.”

Responding to what switch the Boks made after suffering a defeat in the opening game of the series, Hooker said: “There was quite a bit of pressure, especially after losing the first game, but we knew the third game was always going to be make or break for either team.

“We tried to focus on ourselves, what we do, and what works for us, and as a group we said we’re going to put everything into that game, and if we win, great, but if we lose, we’ll go again next week.

“We still have one game to play, so it’s not done. We want to lift our standards and we’re going to focus all our energy on that.”

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will announce his squad for the match on Monday evening (SA time).

The post Hooker Ready for RGR Showdown in Baltimore appeared first on SportsClub.

At odds with World Rugby’s views on scrum laws, Dave Rennie says the buck stops with him as New Zealand look to avoid more punishment from the Springboks on Saturday.

Last week’s 29-24 loss at FNB Stadium handed South Africa a 2-1 series lead in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, the Boks powering to victory on the back of a first-half penalty try and a ferocious second-half maul finished off by Malcolm Marx.

Speaking in the build-up to the finale, Rennie didn’t shy away from where the Kiwis came up short in Joburg.

KIWI SCRIBE: All Blacks can’t play with ‘big boys’

“I mean, the buck stops with me in the end. I think that scrum [last week]; you have a look at that scrum, we were poor and got punished,” he told the media in an online conference. “It’s a pretty easy decision for the referee, to be honest.”

The maul was equally costly, Rennie explained, pointing to a defensive read that broke down entirely.

“The maul, we competed in the middle and we’re supposed to compete at the tail on that one. The reason is, given the front, we can defend the front. But we went up in the middle and then we had no one in front of that maul once it started, and so we never recovered.

“Considering where that started and where that finished, we should do better.”

ALSO: Rennie set to rotate

He admitted part of that breakdown comes down to experience missing from his pack.

“There’s no Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock out there who can say, ‘Oh, they’re defending a little bit differently, let’s go to this or that’.

“That’s where we’re at, and we’ve got to develop those guys quickly. We’ve got no option. This set-piece has to be better and so we can’t hide from it.”

JK: Carter defensive errors really cost us

Rennie, though, remains conflicted by World Rugby’s take on how the scrum is being judged.

“We can talk about scrums, but clearly our view and the view of World Rugby and the officials is different, so you just have to deal with that,” he said.

“They don’t see it the way we do and they’re the ones that matter on game day, so we will have to be better.

“I just don’t want it to be the big topic. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be more accurate and limit the number of scrums they have.

“I don’t really want to talk about the scrum because in the end that was not the deciding factor [last week]. That maul where they scored under the posts – that was a big moment in the game.”

Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images

The post ‘There’s no Brodie to fix All Blacks set-piece’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.