🇿🇦 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

🇿🇦 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORNÉ STEYN - ONE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER TENS WHO EVER PLAYED THE GAME 🎉 Some players get one big moment and spend the rest of their career being remembered for it. Morné Steyn got two, twelve years apart, against the same opponent, in the same position on the field, with the same result. Born on this day, 11 July 1984, in Cape Town, he turns 42 today. Between those two moments sits one of the most complete careers any fly-half has ever put together. Happy Birthday, Morné. The man they once left out of the team is now spoken about among the greatest number 10s the game has ever seen. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #MornéSteyn #Rugby #Birthday

🇿🇦 BINDER EYES SACHSENRING RECOVERY AFTER FRUSTRATING SPRINT 🏍️ Brad Binder crossed the line in P12 at the Sachsenring Sprint on Saturday, a result that did little to lift a difficult weekend so far for the KTM man in Germany. The South African had started from the fifth row after a tough Saturday morning, and while he picked his way through traffic where he could, the 13-lap dash never gave him the room to make a real statement. Marc Marquez controlled the Sprint from lights to flag, resisting a late surge from brother Alex Marquez to claim his fourth Sprint win of the season and extend his run of Sachsenring dominance. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the podium, closing the gap on championship leader Jorge Martin to just 13 points heading into the summer break. For Binder, the day was about damage limitation rather than statement-making. But speaking after the race, he made clear his focus has already shifted to Sunday. JAY | JPS SAYS: "Sprint Saturdays haven't been kind to Brad this year, but the Sachsenring has a habit of rewarding patience on a Sunday. Thirty laps is a different beast entirely." The point is a fair one. A 15-lap Sprint leaves little margin for recovery once track position is lost, but Sunday's German Grand Prix will run to 30 laps, giving Binder considerably more time to work tyre strategy and race craft in his favour, areas that have often played to his strengths across his KTM career. It comes at a significant moment for the number 33. With his long-standing factory Red Bull KTM seat set to end after this season, and a likely switch to Tech3 alongside Maverick Vinales on the cards for 2027, every strong Sunday performance between now and the summer break adds to his case heading into a new chapter. Sachsenring has produced mixed fortunes for Binder before, but the raw optimism in his message after Saturday's Sprint suggests a rider looking to convert opportunity into result when the laps count for more tomorrow. #RedBull #KTM #Sachsenring #MotoGP #SprintRace BradBinder

🇿🇦 THE SPRINGBOKS GETS THE WIN OVER AN INSPIRING SCOTTISH TEAM!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏅 POLLARD - Man Of The Match! 👏🏻 It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win! Can't see this Scottish team lose against any other team in this tournament!! #NationsChampionship #RSAvSCO #Rugby #JustPlainSport

🇿🇦 CONGRATULATIONS TO RASSIE ERASMUS ON BECOMING THE MOST CAPPED SPRINGBOK COACH 🏉 Coaches don’t usually last in South African rugby. The job chews through good men in three years or less, undone by one bad Rugby Championship, one refereeing controversy, one boardroom whisper campaign that turns into a headline. Rassie Erasmus has been in and around the Springbok setup for eight years now, and on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, against Scotland, he takes charge of his 55th Test as head coach. Nobody has ever done that before him. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #RassieErasmus #Springboks

🇿🇦 HAPPY BIRTHDAY ULI SCHMIDT - THE BOELIE WHO BECAME A HEALER 🎉 There are rugby players you remember for the scoreboard. And then there are those you remember for the sound they made when they hit a ruck — the ones whose reputation walked onto the field a full ten metres before they did. Uli Schmidt belongs firmly in the second category. Born on this very day, 10 July 1961, in Pretoria, he turns 65 today. And what a strange, brilliant contradiction of a life it has been. Happy Birthday, Uli. The man they called “die Boelie” now spends his working days healing people instead of hurting them. 🎙️ FULL STORY on JustPlainSport .com #JustPlainSport #UliSchmidt #Rugby #Birthday