🇿🇦 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

🇿🇦 THE JUNIOR BOKS vs ENGLAND ACTION 🏉 The Junior Springboks are through to another Junior World Championship final after outlasting England 53-37 in a brutal semi-final slugfest at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi on Monday. The under-20 Poms, we're more into trying to bullying the junior South Africans but that didn't work out too well for them! #JuniorBoks #Springboks #Rugby #JuniorWorldChampionship

🇿🇦 DE VILLIERS BACKS UP THE HYPE WITH A STATEMENT PERFORMANCE AGAINST SCOTLAND 🏉 Eight ball carries. Two defenders beaten. Sixty-three metres made. Sixteen tackles. One turnover won. That's Paul de Villiers' return from Saturday's 42-28 win over Scotland at Loftus Versfeld. Only his second Test. Nobody scripted this. De Villiers wasn't named in the original matchday squad for the Boks' opener against England. He found out he was starting after Siya Kolisi failed a late fitness test on a strained hamstring, with Eben Etzebeth also unavailable. Pieter-Steph du Toit shifted into the second row to make room. De Villiers had hours, not weeks, to get ready. He didn't just survive it. He won an early breakdown penalty and got stuck into the physical exchanges, finishing a 45-21 win at Ellis Park looking like he belonged there all along. Rassie Erasmus wasn't handing out easy praise afterward. Asked about De Villiers and Cameron Hanekom, playing just his second Test since a 2024 debut and doing it out of position at flanker, he said the pair "certainly weren't out of class" before adding, "I don't think they were brilliant." Guarded words from a coach who doesn't do compliments for free. He's been retained again for Saturday's trip to Durban against Wales. Two Tests in, the sample size is still small. But the shape of what's building is already clear enough to take seriously. Written by Jay #PaulDeVilliers #RSAvSCO #Springboks #NationsChampionship #JustPlainSport

🇿🇦 JUNIOR BOKS SINK ENGLAND, REACH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 🏆🏉 The Junior Springboks are through to another Junior World Championship final after outlasting England 53-37 in a brutal semi-final slugfest at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi on Monday. It was not a comfortable afternoon. England came out of the blocks fastest, tighthead Ollie Streeter crashing over inside three minutes and flyhalf Hugh Shields adding the extras. The defending champions hit back through Yaqeen Ahmed, but two Shields penalties and a well-worked try kept England ahead deep into the contest... 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JuniorBoks #SpringboksU20 #JuniorWorldChampionship

🇿🇦 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALCOLM MARX - THE BEST HOOKER IN THE WORLD, FULL STOP 🎂 There are hookers who do a job, and there are hookers who redefine what the job even means. Malcolm Marx belongs firmly in the second category. Born on this very day, 13 July 1994, in Germiston, he turns 32 today. And in a position built on unglamorous graft, he has somehow become the most talked-about forward in world rugby. Happy Birthday, Malcolm. From a schoolboy flanker in Germiston to World Rugby’s official Player of the Year, this is a story about getting back up, again and again, until nobody could ignore him anymore. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #MalcolmMarx #Springboks #RugbyLegend

🇿🇦 THE SPRINGBOK TEAM TO FACE WALES IN DURBAN 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 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 cap, 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 (1 t) 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) The match kicks off at 17h40 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster – CLICK HERE. #RSAvWAL #NationsChampionship #Springboks #SouthAfrica #JustPlainSport 🎙️

🚨🇿🇦 POLLARD PLAYS PIVOTAL ROLE IN BOK WIN OVER STRONG SCOTLAND 🏉 Every time the Springboks looked like they could take a breather, Scotland broke through again. Handré Pollard was the one constant that refused to let them get away with it. South Africa raced to 14-0 inside twenty minutes and looked comfortable. Scotland had other ideas, striking twice in quick succession to level it at 14-14 by half-time, and the pattern repeated itself all afternoon: the Boks would pull clear, Scotland would claw back within touching distance, and it was Handré Pollard, more than anyone else in green and gold, who kept steadying the ship. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com Image via Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix #JustPlainSport #Springboks #HandrePollard