PICK OF THE SPORT: Perhaps Rassie Erasmus will again show he is a genius or has rolled the dice once too often. We find out on Saturday, writes Dylan Bettencourt.
For the second weekend in a row, the greatest rugby showcase on Earth will take place on Saturday afternoon when South Africa plays New Zealand at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
The Springboks won a famous victory at Emirates Ellis Park in possibly the most significant match since the World Cup, and local fans are hoping for a game as skilful, spectacular and downright exciting in Cape Town as well.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has broken with recent tradition, with five forwards and three backs on the bench, which could backfire, but most significantly, Bok-legend Handré Pollard replaces Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Willie le Roux is on in place of Aphelele Fassi.
The All Blacks have their best back-three in a long time with Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a on the wings and Will Jordan on fullback.
With a thousand things to look out for, this may be the most important contest on the field.
South Africa v New Zealand, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, Saturday, 5pm.
Argentina v Australia, Estadio López, Santa Fe, Saturday, 9pm.
Both matches will be live on DStv channel 211.
➤ Football is on an international break with Uefa Nations League and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to keep fans entertained this weekend.
France kicks off its campaign on Friday at 8:45 pm when it hosts Italy in a League A Group 2 fixture.
But before that South African fans can watch Bafana Bafana take on Uganda in their Afcon qualifier from 6pm.
Saturday will see England take on Ireland in a fierce rivalry, more so off the field, but expect tensions to be high in the game as well.
That League B Group 2 game kicks off at 6pm on Saturday.
In Bafana Bafana’s Afcon group, Nigeria will face Benin at 6pm on Saturday, with Cameroon taking on Nambia in a Group J fixture at the same time.
Portugal will be in action on Sunday at 8.45pm as they take on Scotland in their second group stage fixture after beating Croatia on Thursday night.
Switzerland will take on European Champions Spain on Sunday night to end the weekend.
All the football action will be live on DStv channels 202 and 203.
➤ The final tennis Grand Slam of the year ends this weekend with the US Open finals in New York.
The women’s singles finals start at 10pm on Saturday, with second-seed Aryna Sabalenka taking on American sixth-seed Jessica Pegula.
The men’s semi-finals happen between the late hours of Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning.
Italian superstar Jannik Sinner will take on British prodigy Jack Draper on Friday night from 9pm, with the winner becoming the first to book their spot in Sunday’s final.
It is an all-American affair on Saturday as Taylor Fritz takes on Frances Tiafoe from 1am.
All the action will be live on DStv channel 214.
Pictured above: The Springboks taking on the All Blacks.
Source: Springboks/X
