All Blacks eye top spot

World Rugby rankings history will be made on Saturday if the All Blacks beat the Springboks at FNB Stadium. grenadier.co.za

New Zealand will return to the summit regardless of their winning margin if they take a 2-1 lead in the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.

It would mark the first time since the rankings were introduced in October 2003 that the No 1 team has changed in three consecutive weeks.

History is also on the All Blacks’ side at FNB Stadium, where they have won on both of their previous visits – 29-22 in 2010 and 32-16 in 2012.

MORE: Big Eben lone survivor from last FNB showdown

A Bok victory on Saturday would strengthen their grip on top spot. A win by 15 points or fewer would give them a 2.43-point advantage over New Zealand, while a victory by more than 15 would increase the gap to 3.38 points.

Should the All Blacks win by more than 15 points, they would move 2.62 rating points clear at the summit.

A draw would also be enough for the Boks to retain the No 1 ranking, although they would lose 0.05 rating points.

Regardless of Saturday’s result, the two rivals are guaranteed to occupy the top two positions in the rankings heading into the final Test of the series in Baltimore.

World Rugby rankings (Top 10)
1. South Africa 93.39
2. New Zealand 92.85
3. Ireland 88.08
4. France 87.43
5. England 85.68
6. Scotland 84.78
7. Australia 83.71
8. Argentina 82.08
9. Fiji 78.00
10. Wales 76.38

Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images

The post All Blacks eye top spot appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

The Springboks managed to break their 100-cap curse against the All Blacks over the past weekend in Cape Town, when Pieter-Steph du Toit became the first Bok to win his 100^th game against their greatest foes.

Now the Boks will be targeting their first ever win over the All Blacks at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test on Saturday.

The 100-Test curse was a bigger one to break, as four previous Bok centurions had lost against the All Blacks in their landmark game.

The first ever Springbok centurion, Percy Montgomery, was the first in Cape Town in 2008, losing the match 19-0.

John Smit followed in Johannesburg in 2010, going down 29-22, while Jean de Villiers in Wellington in 2014 suffered a 14-10 defeat and Damian de Allende in Joburg again earlier this month lost 33-16.

Thus, Du Toit emerging victorious 33-26 in his 100^th Test this past Saturday was a superb achievement and a fitting way to celebrate the landmark game.

First of two

Former Bok captain Smit’s 100^th in 2010 was in fact the first of just two matches between the Boks and All Blacks at the FNB Stadium. They met at the stadium again in 2012 with the visitors again coming out on top, 32-16.

On 11 July 2010 Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 at the FNB Stadium, also known as the Calabash and Soccer City, to lift the 2010 Soccer World Cup trophy.

Fast forward six weeks and the Boks hosted the All Blacks at the stadium in Smit’s landmark match, in front of a record crowd of 94,713 people, and were heartbreakingly beaten in a frenetic finish.

It was the 2010 Tri Nations tournament and the Boks had already lost two games against the All Blacks, 32-12 in Auckland and 31-17 in Wellington.

The Boks held a tight 16-14 lead at halftime, thanks to three penalties from the boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn and a converted Schalk Burger try, while the All Blacks’ points came from three Dan Carter penalties and an unconverted score by prop Tony Woodcock.

Two more Steyn penalties pushed the Boks into a 22-14 lead by the 62^nd minute, but a Carter penalty four minutes later brought the All Blacks back within range.

With time ticking down and just three minutes left on the clock captain Richie McCaw crashed over for an unconverted try to draw the scores level, and in the final minute replacement wing Israel Dagg cruised over to clinch the win and break the Springboks’ and packed stadium’s hearts.

Second match

The match in 2012 was in front of a smaller, but still significant crowd of 80,753 people, and they again had to watch the Boks go down from a winning position.

This time the Boks had a slightly bigger lead at halftime, 16-12, thanks to a converted try by wing Bryan Habana, and three penalties, one from the boot of flyhalf Johan Goosen and two from replacement flyhalf Elton Jantjies, while the All Blacks’ points came from tries by lock Sam Whitelock and scrumhalf Aaron Smith, with one conversion from Carter.

But the second half was a complete blowout as the All Blacks added a further 20 points, through converted tries by centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, as well as a drop goal and penalty from Carter, while the Boks were kept scoreless.

The Boks did manage to get a win at the FNB Stadium, in their third and last match to date to have been played at the stadium, a 73-13 thrashing of Argentina in the Rugby Championship in 2013.

But they will now be looking to finally beat the All Blacks there as well to also take a 2-1 lead in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, heading into the final Test in the USA next weekend.

Le premier stage de la saison de la sélection nationale U-23 de Rafik Saïfi a pris fin ce jeudi au centre technique national (CTN) de Sidi Moussa, qui a regroupé 25 joueurs issus du championnat national.

Le coach national, Rafik Saïfi, a convoqué 25 joueurs pour ce premier stage de la saison des U-23 dont un, le défenseur du Paradou AC Abdelhak Ben Idder qui a dû quitter le regroupement du centre technique national (CTN) de Sidi Moussa pour parapher son nouveau contrat avec l’OGC Nice.

Maintenant que cette sélection, exemptée du 1^er tour, est fixée sur ses prochains adversaires, à savoir le vainqueur de la double confrontation entre le Malawi et l’Eswatini dans le cadre du 2^e tour des éliminatoires de la Coupe d’Afrique des nations (CAN) – Egypte 2027, puis le vainqueur de Mali – Zimbabwe / Maurice au 3^e et dernier tour, le travail de préparation prend une autre consistance.

D’où ce stage ouvert aux joueurs évoluant dans le championnat national, auxquels manquaient ben évidemment les éléments qui avaient pris part au tournoi de football des Jeux Méditerranéens de Tarente 2026, en Italie.

Durant ce stage, Rafik Saïfi et son staff ont procédé à une nouvelle évaluation du potentiel local lors des séances d’entraînement organisées le long de la semaine et entrecoupées par des oppositions d’application, notamment par rapport aux nouveaux éléments convoqués et susceptibles de renforcer la liste élargie de la sélection.

Liste des 25 joueurs convoqués pour le stage :

• Gardiens de but : Mohamed-Aness Mokhtar (CR Belouizdad) – Zakaria Trad (ES Sétif) – Mohamed Merhab (JS Saoura).
• Joueurs de champ : Yakoub Gassi (MC Alger) – Aberrahmane Benadela (US Chaouia) – Abdelhak Cherrir (JS Saoura) – Yacine Chaib (MC Alger) – Rami Bouaouiche (JS Kabylie) – Wael Guerroudja (CR Témouchent) – Ahd Benabderrahmane Boungab (ES Sétif) – Abdelhak Ben Idder (Paradou AC) – Imad Eddine Diha (JS Saoura) – Faiz Ammam (JS El-Biar) – Mohammed Mahi (MB Rouisset) – Omar Boularas (USM Alger) – Mohamed Abdelhafid Sarri (ES Ben Aknoun) – Mohamed Guidoum (Paradou AC) – Youcef Belkaïd (Paradou AC) – Islam Abbaci (JS El-Biar) – Aïssa Feddal (ASO Chlef) – Islam Slimane Tichtich (JS Kabylie) – Ala eddine Limane (USM Alger) – Yacine Hamadouche (MC Alger) – Abdelkrim Souhaib Hamri (CR Témouchent).

L’article EN (U23) : Fin du premier stage de la saison est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 3 – The national women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, is one match away from qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games following a straight-sets victory over Cameroon in the semi-final of the CAVB Africa Championships at a full-to-capacity Nyayo gymnasium on Thursday night.

The record ten-time champions won all the sets 3-0 (25 -19, 25-20, 25-20) and will now meet Egypt in the final tomorrow, Friday at 6pm.

The win saw Malkia Strikers officially qualified for the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup after securing a spot in the Final of the CAVB Women’s African Nations Championship.

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