🚨 LUAN GILIOMEE CLEARED: RED CARD SCRAPPED AS WORLD RUGBY RULES NO FOUL PLAY 🏉 Luan Giliomee's name is clean. The red card that threatened to derail his breakout year has been thrown out entirely, with World Rugby confirming there was no foul play in the aerial contest that got him sent off in the first place. The Junior Springboks utility back was shown a 20-minute red card in the second half of the World Rugby U20 Championship semi-final against England in Tbilisi on 13 July, upgraded via bunker review for aerial contact with opposite number George Pearson. It capped a bruising afternoon on the disciplinary front for South Africa. England flanker Seb Kelly had already been shown a permanent red card of his own in the first half, sent off for a headbutt on Giliomee in a completely separate incident. Two red cards from two separate incidents, and only one of them should ever have stood. ⸻ 🗣️ "Giliomee did exactly what he's coached to do — compete for the ball in the air. This was never a red card, and World Rugby's own panel just proved it!" – 🎙️Jay ⸻ Written By Jay🎙️ #Giliomee #Redcard #Springboks #WorldRugbyU20 #JWC2026 #JustPlainSport

🇿🇦 KES TAKES OVER SPRINGBOK RUGBY THIS SATURDAY WITH 6 OLD BOYS ON DUTY 🏉 There are schools that produce the odd Springbok, and there is King Edward VII School. On Saturday 18 July, the Johannesburg school will have representation in two different Springbok jerseys, on two different continents, in matches that kick off almost on top of each other. KES has been turning out rugby talent since 1902, but its most remarkable claim has nothing to do with volume. It is the only school in the world to have produced two World Rugby Player of the Year winners, Bryan Habana in 2012 and Malcolm Marx in 2025. That alone would be enough for most schools to build a museum wing around. KES is adding to the collection this weekend. Marx starts at hooker when the Springboks host Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban, kick-off 17:40. He matriculated from KES in 2012 and has spent the years since building the resume that made him the reigning World Player of the Year. Alongside him in that starting XV is Vusi Moyo, a 20-year-old flyhalf who matriculated from KES in 2024 and was named among four uncapped players in Rassie Erasmus's squad for the match. Moyo becomes the sixth Springbok produced by the school, and the first since Scarra Ntubeni in 2019. There is a third KES name inside the senior camp this week, away from the field. Zintsika Tashe serves as the Springboks' Operations Manager under Erasmus, part of the management team that keeps the wheels turning behind every Test. He has described King Edward VII as his own alma mater. #RSAvWAL #JuniorWorldChampionship #KESRugby #Springboks #JustPlainSport

🇿🇦 FOUR NEW SPRINGBOKS: THE STORIES BEHIND WILLIAMS, MOYO, VAN HEERDEN AND SADIE'S TEST CALL-UPS 🏉 Four new names will be added to the list of Springboks Test caps on Saturday when Rassie Erasmus’s side takes on Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban. Jaco Williams, Vusi Moyo, Ruben van Heerden and Carlu Sadie all win their first caps in the third round of the Nations Championship, and each of them has taken a completely different road to get there. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #RSAvWAL #Springboks #NationsChampionship

🇿🇦 JOEL STRANSKY TURNS 59: THE MAN WHOSE BOOT UNITED A NATION 🏉 Ask any South African old enough to remember it, and they can tell you exactly where they were. Not for a birth, not for a wedding — for a drop goal. Seven minutes from the end of extra time, Joel Stransky settled the ball, stepped back, and put South Africa 15-12 up in a World Cup final. Born on 16 July 1967 in Pietermaritzburg, Joel Stransky turned 59 yesterday. Happy 59th Birthday, Joel. From all of us at Just Plain Sport, we hope you had a great one yesterday. 🎂🏉 Cheers! 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #RugbyLegend #JoelStransky #happybirthday

🏆 ARGENTINA🇦🇷 DESTROY ENGLISH🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 DREAMS IN WORLDCUP SEMI FINAL!!! Lionel Messi is thirty-nine years old and he is still doing this to people. Seven minutes. Two assists. A World Cup semi-final pulled back from the dead. That is what Argentina produced against England on Wednesday, and it is why the defending champions are one win away from history. ⸻ 🗣️ "Thirty-nine years old and still the best man in the building when it matters most. Argentina don't panic anymore, they just wait for Messi!" – 🎙️Jay ⸻ 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #Messi #Argentina #WorldCup2026 #SemiFinal #ArgentinaVsSpain

🏆 CURRIE CUP KICKS OFF: RUGBY'S OLDEST PROVINCIAL BATTLE RETURNS 🇿🇦 The Currie Cup traces its first matches back to 1889, making it the oldest provincial rugby competition in the world. That history carries into its 88th edition this weekend, when the Premier Division and First Division both spring into action. ⸻ 🗣️ "You don't get a competition running since 1889 without teams that know how to show up when it matters. This weekend has that written all over it!" – 🎙️Jay ⸻ 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #CurrieCup2026 #SpringbokRugby #FafDeKlerk #SARugby #JustPlainSport

🇿🇦 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAUN POLLOCK | THE FIRST SOUTH AFRICAN TO REACH 400 TEST WICKETS 🏏 Some surnames carry weight in South African Cricket before the person attached to them has bowled a single ball. Pollock is one of those names. By the time Shaun Maclean Pollock was old enough to hold a cricket bat, his father Peter had already terrorised batting line-ups as a Test fast bowler, and his uncle Graeme was already spoken of as one of the greatest left-handed batsmen the game had ever produced. Born on this very day, 16 July 1973, in Port Elizabeth, he turns 53 today. He did not just live up to that name. He built his own next to it... 🎂 Happy Birthday, Shaun. The son of a fast bowler and the nephew of a batting great, who became the first South African in history to take 400 Test wickets. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #ShaunPollock #Cricket #Birthday

🇿🇦 SPRINGBOKS CHASE 11TH STRAIGHT TEST WIN IN DURBAN 🏉 Rassie Erasmus's side will extend one of the best runs in Springbok history when they win against Wales on Saturday! 🦌THE BOKS 15 Aphelele Fassi (Toshiba) – 16 caps, 35 pts (7t) 14 Jaco Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped 13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 89 caps, 110 pts (22t) 12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 98 caps, 55 pts (11t) 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 31 caps, 120 pts (24t) 10 Vusi Moyo (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped 9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 95 pts (19t) 8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 45 caps, 15 pts (3t) 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 97 caps, 70 pts (14t) 6 Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 2 caps, 0 pts 5 Ruben van Heerden (Montpellier) – uncapped 4 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 pts 3 Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Begles) – uncapped 2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 88 caps, 135 pts (27t) 1 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 17 caps, 10 pts (2t) REPLACEMENTS: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 5 pts (1t) 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 10 pts (2t) 18 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 30 caps, 10 pts (2t) 19 Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t) 20 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 34 caps, 15 pts (3t) 21 Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne) – 24 caps, 25 pts (5t) 22 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 29 caps, 145 pts (2t, 48c, 13p) 23 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg) Regulars Siya Kolisi, Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth remain out of the mix, a reminder of just how deep this squad now runs. Kick off is 17:40 SAST on Saturday at Kings Park, Durban. (Broadcast only on Supersport) The Springboks are about to walk away with 11 straight, a perfect Nations Championship southern conference record, and four new caps to build toward the next World Cup cycle. #RSAvWAL #Springboks #Wales #NationsChampionship #RassieErasmus #JustPlainSport