Rickelton fireworks eliminate Ferreira’s Phoenix

The South African opener smashed 65 off 37 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes before being run out off having been starved of the strike in the closing stages. xsportfeed.quest

His opening partnership of 52 with Mitchell Marsh set the platform for a total of 169-7 that always looked beyond Phoenix.

On the other side, Donovan Ferreira captained Phoenix but could only manage 3 off 7 balls as Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts shared six wickets between them to dismantle the home batting lineup.

Sean Dickson top-scored with 34 off 27 but Phoenix were always behind the required rate, finishing on 124-8 with Jordan Thompson’s late sixes merely reducing the margin of defeat.

Carse took 3-17 from his 20 balls and Potts followed with 3-22 as the pair bowled with control throughout. Phoenix were effectively eliminated by the powerplay, reduced to 23-3 inside the first 22 balls.

The result moved Sunrisers up to second in the table with a significant net run rate boost. For Ferreira, it was a difficult night at the office as Phoenix became the second men’s team knocked out of the 2026 Hundred.

Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The post Rickelton fireworks eliminate Ferreira’s Phoenix appeared first on SA Cricket Mag.

Stormers captain Ruhan Nel was a chuffed man at the efforts of his team after they gave the mighty All Blacks a big scare in the opening match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night.

The Stormers produced an almighty fight to push the All Blacks to the limit, and heading into the final 15 minutes of the match were level pegging at 14-all, but in the end ran out of steam as the visitors powered away in the final 10 for a 38-21 win.

Part of that was down to the home team’s injury woes. After naming a 6-2 split for the game they lost scrumhalf Imad Khan to injury within the first five minutes, and Nel himself then didn’t emerge for the second half.

Reshuffle

Straight after the All Blacks retook the lead 21-14 in the 68^th minute, the Stormers then lost replacement scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage, which led to a reshuffle that saw wing Seabelo Senatla slot in at nine, and loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani move onto the wing.

That, along with the game becoming incredibly loose, allowed the All Blacks to run in four late tries, after having been limited to just two in the opening 67 minutes.

“We identified the aerial game as a something we could impose on them and we did that quite well. We put some leather to the legs with our mauls and we got some reward with our scrums as well,” explained Nel after the match.

“Until the 65^th minute I actually thought we had a shot. Even when we went 21-14 down we were still in it. But that’s a Test team for you. If you are not clinical enough they punish you.

“But none-the-less I am very proud of this team. With just three weeks prep we gave it a hell of a shot.”

Give it a go

Nel said he hoped that the other South African franchises would also be able to front up and give it a proper go against the New Zealanders in the other three tour matches against URC teams.

“Everybody has a different identity and approach. We know what works for us and that’s what they will have to do and play to their strengths,” said Nel.

“One thing we realised is the pace of the game is a step up from what we are used to in the URC. But we enjoyed that as well.

“They are the second best team in the world for a reason and we got to experience that and hopefully the other franchises and give them a run for their money as well.”

Veteran All Blacks centre Anton Lienert-Brown, who picked up a first half yellow card but was also named man-of-the-match, said that the win was massively important for the team to start their tour on the right foot.

“It was huge. What a fight the Stormers brought tonight. It was everything we expected and it came down to the last 20 minutes. We are proud, there were a lot of young boys out there, but we just did our job and finished it off,” said Lienert-Brown.

“Our discipline was poor, myself included, so we needed to be better in that space, and we knew if we got the ball we could build phases and score tries, which is what we did.”

Libbie Janse van Rensburg marked her first Test as captain in style as the Springbok Women crushed the Fijiana XV in Suva on Saturday.

The flyhalf reached two milestones in the 55-12 win, taking her Test points tally to 221 while becoming the 12th player to captain the Bok Women since they played their first Test in 2004.

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Janse van Rensburg praised the team’s dominant set-piece after South Africa laid the foundation for a comprehensive victory through their scrums, lineouts and mauls.

“We are a happy change room right now. We wanted to start strong in this first Test match and achieved that,” she said.

“We really did well in our first phase play and it worked well – our scrums, lineouts and mauls functioned very well and laid the foundation for the win.”

The Bok Women also successfully integrated several players returning from the SVNS circuit, with Shiniqwa Lamprecht making her Test debut as South Africa’s 194th capped player.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Janse van Rensburg believes there is room for improvement before the teams meet again in Lautoka next Saturday.

“Our breakdowns did not always yield the fast ball we wanted, but that came right in the second half and it showed in the final score,” she said.

“We focused a lot on the breakdown leading up to this match and that will continue, we are not as smooth yet as we want to be.

“I also think we can be more direct in the backs as well, we took it out wide today, but still have the option of more direct play, which will also suit our style.”

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The Bok Women will travel to Nandi on Sunday, where they will be based during the week as they prepare for the second Test.

FIJIANA XV – Tries: Vani Buleki, Varanaise Qoro. Conversion: Litiana Vueti.
SPRINGBOK WOMEN – Tries: Xoliswa Khuzwayo (2), Nombuyekezo Mdliki, Lindelwa Gwala, Vainah Ubisi, Sizo Solontsi, Maceala Samboya, Byrhandré Dolf, Sinelitha Noxeke. Conversions: Libbie Janse van Rensburg, Dolf (4).

Photo: @WomenBoks/X

The post Libbie leads Bok Women to big win appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.