Category: 6. Sports

– I am not able to adequately describe in words the unfathomable dept of sadness in this tragic loss of life. Our thoughts are with all who mourn Mattia. I encourage the global orienteering community to honor his memory, says the IOF President.

The International World Games Association (IWGA), Local Organising Committee (LOC) of The World Games 2025 Chengdu and the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) confirm with great sadness the passing of Italian orienteering athlete, Mattia Debertolis.

Tahiti have closed out their OFC U-16 Women’s Championship campaign on a high, defeating American Samoa 2-0 in the 7th-place play-off in Apia.

With the stakes high, the loser bound for next year’s Qualifying tournament and the winner retaining Championship status, Tahiti struck early. In the 10th minute, Anikua Nekrouf swivelled inside the box before firing a crisp left-footed shot into the net.

American Samoa thought they had equalised in the 24th minute when captain Maryjane Laina bundled the ball home, but the effort was ruled out after a collision with Tahiti goalkeeper Kalea Torohia, earning Laina a yellow card.

Just before half-time, Anaiyah Vee broke into the Tahiti box, but her effort lacked the power to trouble Torohia.

The second half began with drama as Tahiti had a strong penalty appeal waved away by referee Jerethy George of Vanuatu. Moments later, American Samoa came close from a pair of dangerous corners, only for the Tahiti defence to hold firm.

Tahiti’s second came in the 55th minute when Ravanui Warren unleashed a stunning long-range strike that deceived goalkeeper Leila Salausa. From there, American Samoa pressed for a way back but struggled to create clear chances, leaving Torohia largely untroubled.

Tahiti 2 (Anikua NEKROUF 10’  Ravanui WARREN 55’)

American Samoa 0

 HT 1-0

The International World Games Association (IWGA), Local Organising Committee (LOC) of The World Games 2025 Chengdu and the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) confirm with great sadness the passing of Italian orienteering athlete, Mattia Debertolis.

Mattia Debertolis was found unconscious during the Men’s Middle Distance competition of Orienteering on the morning of Friday, 8 August 2025 in Chengdu, China, during the 12th edition of The World Games. Despite receiving immediate expert medical care at one of China’s leading medical institutions, he passed away on 12 August 2025.

The World Games Family, the LOC and the IOF is struck by this tragedy and extends its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the athlete and the whole Orienteering community. Our thoughts are with those touched by this event.

The IWGA, LOC, and IOF will continue to support the family of Mattia Debertolis and the orienteering community in every possible way.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a strong team for the side’s opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday, with the matchday squad featuring 18 Rugby World Cup winners and only one player who made his Test debut during the July Test Series.

 

Only three players in the squad have five Test caps or fewer – Jan-Hendrik Wessels (utility forward), Edwill van der Merwe (wing) and Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), who made his Test debut against Italy in July.

 

The Springboks will be hunting their fifth successive victory against the Wallabies in the match after defeating them in both Castle Lager Rugby Championship games in Australia last season and once each in 2023 and 2022.

 

The match will mark a significant occasion for veteran Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth, who will extend his record as the most capped Bok of all time to 134 matches, which will see him pass Ireland scrumhalf Conor Murray from joint-11th place in the global pecking order to joint 10th position with Welsh prop Gethin Jenkins.

 

Erasmus named an exciting backline, featuring a back-three of Aphelele Fassi and wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Van der Merwe, while Jesse Kriel will join forces with Andre Esterhuizen in the midfield following a niggle picked up by Damian de Allende. Manie Libbok and Grant Williams will dictate at halfback.

 

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi will don the No 8 jersey for the first time in a Test, in a loose trio with flankers Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marco van Staden, while Etzebeth and Lood de Jager will control the engine room behind a front row featuring props Ox Nche and Wilco Louw and hooker Malcolm Marx.

 

The Bok coach opted for five forwards and three backs on the replacements bench, where Bongi Mbonambi, Wessels and Ntlabakanye will serve as the impact front row, along with utility forwards Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith. The three backs on the bench are Cobus Reinach, Canan Moodie, and Damian Willemse.

 

“We’ve been experimenting with player combinations during the Castle Lager Incoming Series and at our conditioning camp in the last two weeks, and we believe this team will allow us to play the type of rugby we want to play against Australia,” said Erasmus.

 

“The Wallabies will be determined to change their win record against us in the last three seasons, so they’ll come out guns blazing, and we are confident that the players we selected will be up for the challenge.

 

“All of the starters except for Edwill have faced them before, and we are confident that he is ready for this challenge.”

 

Commenting on the niggle to De Allende, Erasmus said: “Damian picked up a back niggle in the last two weeks and will train again this week, but Andre has been strong for us in the last few seasons, so it was an easy decision to name him alongside Jesse in the midfield.”

 

Erasmus added: “Cheslin (Kolbe) has also recovered from a niggle and trained with us last week, but we decided to exercise caution and give him extra time at training before selecting him. Edwill has been in good form this season, and it will be good to see what he brings in this match.”

 

With Australia coming off a confidence-boosting 22-12 victory after a heartbreaking 29-26 defeat against the British & Irish Lions, Erasmus expected a challenging test against them.

 

“Australia showed that they are on the right trajectory in their last two matches against the British & Irish Lions and we have no doubt they will enter this match with confidence and determined to build on those performances,” he said.

 

“They are a physical and well-coached team, and we’ll certainly not underestimate how much those performances, combined with their motivation to bounce back strongly against us after the last few results between the teams, and win their first match ever at Ellis Park, will inspire them.

 

“That said, we have also been working hard to keep building on our game and improve, and we believe our two-week conditioning camp has placed us in the right frame of mind for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship. So hopefully we can transfer that hard work into our game to place ourselves in a good position to defend the title.”

 

Springbok team to face Australia in Johannesburg:

15 Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 12 caps, 35 points (7t)

14 Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 3 caps, 25 pts (5t)

13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 80 caps, 95 points (19t)

12 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 20 caps, 0 pts

11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 26 caps, 100 points (20t)

10 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 20 caps, 108 pts (1t, 35c, 11p)

9 Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 19 caps, 25 pts (5t)

8 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 93 caps, 60 points (12t)

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 88 caps, 60 pts (12t)

6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 27 caps, 15 pts (3t)

5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 67 caps, 25 points (5t)

4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 133 caps, 35 points (7t)

3 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 18 caps, 0 pts

2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 78 caps, 115 pts (23t)

1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 41 caps, 0 pts

Replacements:

16 Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 79 caps, 70 points (14t)

17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 5 caps, 10 pts (2t)

18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions) – 1 cap, 0 pts

19 Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 79 caps, 20 points (4t)

20 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 53 caps, 45 points (9t)

21 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 40 caps, 70 pts (14t)

22 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 14 caps, 35 pts (7t)

23 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 41 caps, 61 points (5t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)

 

Facts and Stats

 

Head-to-head v Australia

Played 95; Won 52; Lost 40; Drawn 3; Points for: 1 923, Points against: 1 672; Tries scored 227, Tries conceded 171; Highest score 61-22 (Pretoria, 1997); Biggest win 45 points (53-8, Johannesburg 2008). Win % 54.7%.

 

Miscellaneous

Should the Springboks win, it will be the first time they have won five successive Tests against the Wallabies in more than half a century (they won seven matches in a row against Australia between 1969 and 1971).

Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 134 Test matches when he takes the field. He will also move past Conor Murray as the 11th most capped men’s player in rugby history, which will see him level with Gethin Jenkins in joint-10th place on the list.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s starting berth will see him strike 94 Test caps, meaning he will only require six more Test appearances to become the ninth player in South African rugby history to earn 100 Test caps.

A victory for the Springboks will see them extend their unbeaten run against the Wallabies at Ellis Park to seven matches. They have never lost a match against Australia at the iconic stadium.

The Boks have won six of their last 10 matches against the Wallabies – a track record they will be determined to improve on this weekend. Their last defeat against the Wallabies was in Adelaide in 2022.

The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up are 725.

There are 180 caps in the backline, with 545 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 312 caps.

The average caps per player in the backline are 26, the forwards 68, while the players on the bench average 39.

Cristiano Ronaldo put a (huge) ring on it.

The soccer superstar has gotten engaged to his longtime girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez. Rodríguez shared the engagement news on Instagram Monday, posting a picture of a gigantic diamond ring on her left hand.

“Yes, I do,” Rodríguez wrote in a caption translated from Spanish. “In this and in all lives.”

Today marks the eleventh anniversary of Real Madrid‘s second Uefa Super Cup. On 12 August 2014, after securing La Décima a few months earlier, the Whites lifted a fresh continental trophy in Cardiff (Wales), where they defeated Sevilla courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo double (2-0). The Portuguese was named MVP of the match, which marked the official debut of one of our great legends: Toni Kroos.

Real Madrid broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark when Cristiano Ronaldo finished off a delightful cross from Bale on the left. In the second half, the Portuguese forward sealed the game with an angled drive. With this victory, the Madridistas lifted the trophy again, 12 years after the first Uefa Super Cup.

MATCH INFO:
2- Real Madrid: Casillas, Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Coentrão (Marcelo, 84’), Modric (Illarramendi, 86’), Kroos, James (Isco, 72’), Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.
0- Sevilla: Beto, Coke (Diogo, 84’), Pareja, Carriço, Fazio, Fernando Navarro, Krychowiak, Aleix Vidal (Iago Aspas, 66’), Vitolo, Denis (Reyes, 78’), Bacca.

Goals:
1-0 (min. 30): Cristiano Ronaldo.
2-0 (min. 49): Cristiano Ronaldo.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England).
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium.