Latest news with #Pretoria-based
The South African
9 hours ago
- Business
- The South African
Springboks (IN): Plethora of top stars returning to SA
Several top Springboks will be returning to South Africa next season. The Springboks boast world class players playing all over the world. From the United Kingdon (UK) to Japan and Europe, top Bok splay key roles for their respective overseas-based franchises. Thankfully, some of the top Boks are set to return to South Africa soon. POLLARD HEADLINES LIST OF SENSATIONAL BOK RETURNS Handre Pollard will be returning to Loftus to represent the Bulls next season. Moreover, the Springbok pivot is one of several big-name players set to join the Pretoria-based outfit next season. The other former Bulls and Springboks star set to return to Loftus is Jan Serfontein. Furthermore, Pollard move will be one of the most lucrative deals in SA Rugby. He is set to become one of the top-earning players in South Africa. MARVIN ORIE SET FOR MARQUE RETURN TO SA Former Springboks lock, Marvin Orie is also set to join up with Jake White's Bulls. According to Rapport, the Bulls are poised to bring lock Marvin Orie back to Pretoria as part of a sweeping recruitment drive ahead of the 2025 Currie Cup. So, he will join a plethora of capped Springboks at the Bulls. This includes the likes of Gerhard Steenakamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Marcel Coetzee, Cameron Hanekom, Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux. ELECTRIC SCRUMHALF SHOCKS WITH STORMERS DEAL Cobus Reinach is one of the fastest scrumhalves in World Rugby. The electrifying and speedy scrummy will be playing for the Stormers next season. The double Rugby World Cup winner has signed for John Dobsons Cape-based outfit. He will start playing for them at the start of the 2025/26 season
The South African
a day ago
- Sport
- The South African
Bulls bolster pack with Bok lock in major recruitment drive
The Vodacom Bulls are strengthening their squad ahead of the 2025-26 season, with World Cup-winning lock Marvin Orie set to return to Pretoria. The Vodacom Bulls are set to welcome back Springbok World Cup winner Marvin Orie as part of an ambitious recruitment overhaul ahead of the 2025 Currie Cup season. According to Rapport , Orie has agreed terms to leave French club Perpignan and rejoin the Pretoria-based side. The 32-year-old lock last featured for the Springboks during the 2023 Rugby World Cup and is a seasoned campaigner with experience in both the northern and southern hemispheres. He previously played for the Bulls from 2014 to 2016 before moving on to the Lions, Stormers, and a stint in Wales with the Ospreys. Orie's return is viewed as a major coup for the Bulls, who are targeting domestic dominance and greater squad depth heading into the next URC cycle and Currie Cup campaign. The Bulls' recruitment doesn't stop with Orie. Cheetahs loose forward Jeandré Rudolph is also expected to make his way back to Loftus, having decided to part ways with the Free State side after their SA Cup run. Rudolph previously played for the Bulls and Sharks and brings versatility to the back row. In another forward boost, young lock Dylan de Leeuw is reportedly set to join the Bulls on a full-time basis. The 23-year-old, a former Junior Springbok who has represented Western Province and Italian club Zebre, has been training with the team for the past two months while recovering from injury. These moves are part of a larger recruitment wave aimed at solidifying the Bulls' status as a top-tier force in both domestic and international competition. The Pretoria outfit is also expected to unveil a blockbuster list of arrivals in July, including World Cup-winning flyhalf Handré Pollard, powerful centre Jan Serfontein, imposing lock Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, and dynamic scrumhalf Paul de Wet. With coach Jake White eyeing silverware on all fronts, the Bulls' new signings underline their intent to build a squad capable of sustained success. The return of experienced Springboks and the injection of young talent could prove crucial in the seasons ahead. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
2 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Special reminder: Why Bulls have retired No 14 jersey
Last month, former Springbok and Bulls star Cornal Hendricks tragically passed away from a heart attack, with tributes and special messages pouring in ever since the news came to light. After returning to rugby after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition, Hendricks largely revived his career at the Bulls over the last few years, and the Pretoria-based franchise has led a number of special tributes to Hendricks since his death. One of these includes no longer fielding the No 14 jersey, having chosen to 'retire' the number in honour to Hendricks until the end of the season. Each jersey worn will also carry photos of Hendricks within the number on the back of the jerseys, with the Bulls hoping to go all the way in the URC in honour of the former winger. 'Many people were shocked and sad when his career was cut short in 2015,' Bulls boss Jake White recently commented as he shared memories of coaching Hendricks. 'When we had the opportunity to get him back on the park, he took that with open arms and made a remarkable use of his second lease in professional rugby. We all witnessed him leave no stone unturned as he inspired his teammates and the South African community through his story of hope and courage. 'It was a privilege and honour to have been his coach, a fantastic role model for the next generation and his appetite for life was infectious. Rugby has lost one of the good ones today.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Irish Daily Mirror
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Crowley passed fit to travel for Munster's quarter-final against Sharks
Munster's end of season slalom saw their season finish with two must-win games, effectively knock-out games against Ulster and both games - they needed to come from 10-14 down at half-time in the second - gained Champions Cup qualification and a difficult quarter-final game against Sharks in Kings Park, Durban, this Friday night (5.30pm local).The good news is Jack Crowley who was clearly carrying a leg for a long time against Zebre, Diarmuid Barron and Niall Scannell have all been passed fit and are in the 32-strong travelling Loughman will also be in Durban, may make the bench for his first appearance since he suffered a hamstring injury in last month's win over La Rochelle, but the downside sees Shane Daly, Billy Burns and Oli Jager among those who did not travel (see full squad below).It's a tie for which Ian Costello had a week extra to organise for but the realisation must have dawned on the entire group following the post-Zebre Champions Cup qualification celebrations in Cork that these Sharks are very serious contenders for the 2024/25 URC up a 2025 table comprising the 16 teams last 10 matches/results since the turn of the year and it would be headed by Leinster, Bulls and Sharks with eight wins apiece (next best is six).Leinster are there by virtue of one the strangest/greatest wins of the season, a late March raid on Sharks in Durban without their 11 Centrally Contracted players, RG Snyman, Jordie Barrett, Rabah Slimani, Sam Prendergast or Jack the Blues' bench that day comprised such as Barron, Milne, McGuire, Spicer, Penny, Coffey, McErlean and, albeit more familiar, Ross 10-7 win was truly seismic and prevented, in this case, Sharks having nine from ten 2025 wins and all-season nine from nine home URC wins. Moreover their win over Bulls was part of a double over their Pretoria-based is maybe some solace to be found in that John Plumtree's sidedidn't make the Champions Cup knockouts despite opening with a bonus-point home win over Exeter Chiefs in the pool fixture list then ran Leicester Tigers away, Toulouse at home and Bordeaux away - that's second in the English Premier, second in the Top 14 and the Top 14 leaders who are now European went to Tigers in round two with a weakened squad and got hammered 56-17, throwing his toys out of the pram afterwards claiming:"I want to bring our strongest Sharks side here and play on the biggest stage. I can understand their [the fans'] frustration. I want to go out there and give Leicester a good hiding in front of their home crowd. Don't worry about that."We're all competitive. But the reality is we've got to look after these athletes. They are not robots. They don't front up every week. And right now, the South African boys are treated like robots."I think the organisers need to have a look at it and go: 'Well, why are we sending a team up here for one week?' We arrive on Wednesday and play on Saturday."It's hardly high performance. Maybe we should come up here and play a couple of games, and stay for a fortnight? They need to look at it."If Plumtree had merely taken a gamble with the second result, his calculations were sent askew when Toulouse managed a 8-20 win at Kings Parks in the third round before sending (possibly to back up his point about on-off northern hemisphere games) a weakened team to 5-12 up at one point and only 19-12 down at the break, the floodgates opened in the second half as his bench was overrun and Bordeaux ran in seven tries to win Munster beware, Sharks don't see themselves as anything but URC top drawer. And given they possess experienced Springboks stars such as Siya Kolisi, Eben Estebeth, Luhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Bhutelezi and front-rowers Ox Niche, Bongi Nbonambi, Vincent Koch, they will start massive favourites. Skipper Estebeth, probably the best second-row forward in the world at the moment, is in confident mood:We've shown that all year, if you look at the games we've won at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and then lost a couple of close ones as well so we're not lacking in that space.'We can't wait for the quarter-final, playing in front of our home crowd, it's going to be amazing,' says Hollywoodbets Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth."MUNSTER Travelling Squad For URC Quarter-Final:Backs: Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Mike Haley, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Conor Murray, Alex Nankivell, Calvin Nash, Seán O'Brien, Rory Scannell, Andrew Tony Butler, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Paddy PattersonForwards: Tom Ahern, Stephen Archer, Diarmuid Barron, Lee Barron, Tadhg Beirne, Gavin Coombes, Ronan Foxe, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen, Jean Kleyn, Jeremy Loughman, Michael Milne, Jack O'Donoghue, Peter O'Mahony, John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Fineen Wycherley, Josh To Rehab, not travlling: Oli Jager (head), Ethan Coughlan (hamstring), Billy Burns (shoulder), Shane Daly (hamstring), Roman Salanoa (knee). Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
From page to performance: Xitha Makgeta on the transformative power of art and literature
For the Pretoria-based poet who has a deep passion for anything art, his building of worlds contribute to the memory bank of the society he lives in, and he wishes to do so authentically. Writer, poet and performer Xitha Makgeta is known for his poetry chapbooks Bits & Pieces (2010) and Pen Still Inking (2021). He is also an arts activist and the founder of poetry workshops, and has performed his work at various festivals and events. When did you first identify as a creative artist? It was a conscious and rebellious decision when I first started identifying as a creative. I was in Grade 12 doing my final year in high school. But I've always been fascinated by words. I've always had a deep love for books. The smell of ink on paper stimulates certain senses I didn't know existed. With books, through imagination, I could build worlds. I could feel myself existing in stories. I could deeply relate to different characters. That's how I was captured by the power of literature. Reading also helped me to discover my voice. I realised that I too carry a lot of stories within that I needed to find a way to express, and that's how I started picking up the pen. I was in high school, Grade 8 or 9, when I started journalling and writing poems. Outside your medium, which branch of art most stimulates you? It definitely has to be documentary film. Which artist in said discipline has significantly inspired you, and why? It varies from time to time. I'm currently drawn to the works of Omelga Mthiyane. She's a South African documentary filmmaker. It's always about the black experience throughout her films. I like the choice of subjects or issues that she confronts and engages. Apart from just telling stories, there's always an underlying sense of outreach for healing and closure in her work. I really enjoy watching her films – Ikhaya is one that stands out for me. What, to you, is art's most important function? Art is the memory bank of a society. And apart from documenting the times, because of its reflective nature, art doesn't take sides. It captures and exposes the beautiful and the most heinous of humanity. Art is supposed to be the silence when the world's got a voice and the voice when the world turns silent. Local creatives — in any medium — who excite you? Through her Instagram account, my homegirl Fifi the RaiBlaster has been sharing some of the stuff she's working on — some nice things that excite me. I saw that there are some comic strips she's been writing and obviously new music. We both come from Mamelodi, but I haven't physically seen her in years. She's one of the artists I hold in high regard — a very grounded and creative musician. Her last album, BlackMatter, (2017) is still on my playlist. Which specific work, be it in literature, music, or visual art, do you return to again and again, and why? GroundWorks Demolition: The MeStory (2002) and the compilation Pavement Special Volume 1 (2003). These are hip-hop mixtapes that feature some of my favourite rappers in the country: Ben Sharpa, Krook'd, Hueman, Hymphatic Thabs, to name a few. The illest time of the South African underground rap scene. I rose from this era; it really helped me grow as an artist. It is also around this time that I got introduced to some of the best writers of our time. I return to any works by Dambudzo Marechera or Lesego Rampolokeng. Why? They're genius. I've never met anyone who writes like they do. What are your thoughts on the AI revolution? Anything artificial intelligence (AI) generates lacks a human touch. There's no authentic human experience attached to the machine. But we can't be ignorant of the impact of AI and its potential in our daily lives. It has proven to be a game-changer in how people interact with the cyberworld. It is a technological tool that can greatly advance us or catastrophically destroy us. There are specific industries in which I think AI can be exploited beneficially — the health and agriculture sectors, mining, etc. I find it difficult to reconcile with AI in the creative and arts sectors. I really believe that the most authentic and living artworks can be identified by the human experience that they embody. Any project you're wrapping up? Nothing in the pipeline yet. I've been trying to put together a small collection of short stories, but it's been a struggle, a slow process that I'm honestly enjoying. I love how these stories keep evolving and mutating as I work and develop them further. I've been on this project for just over a year and hopefully, sometime soon, I'll be able to share it with everyone. DM
