Weekend teams

Check out the match 23s for this weekend’s Nations Championship and Currie Cup matches. capturengo.com

NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
ALL BLACKS vs IRELAND (Saturday, 9:10am SA time)

ALL BLACKS – TBC

IRELAND – TBC

JAPAN vs FRANCE (Saturday, 10:40am SA time)

JAPAN – TBC

FRANCE – TBC

WALLABIES vs ITALY (Saturday, 12:10pm SA time)

WALLABIES – TBC

ITALY – TBC

FIJI vs SCOTLAND (Saturday, 3:10pm SA time)

FIJI – TBC

SCOTLAND – TBC

SPRINGBOKS vs WALES (Saturday, 5:40pm)

SPRINGBOKS – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (c), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Damian Willemse.

WALES – TBC

ARGENTINA vs ENGLAND (Saturday, 9:10pm SA time)

ARGENTINA – TBC

ENGLAND – TBC

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CURRIE CUP
PUMAS vs SHARKS XV (Friday, 5pm)

PUMAS – TBC

SHARKS XV – 15 Chijindu Okontu, 14 Christie Grobbelaar, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Lyle Matthews, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Thomas Dyer (c), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Willem van den Hever, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Johan Momsen, 3 Simphiwe Ngobese, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Bench: 16 Jacques Marais, 17 Jaco du Toit, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Sipho Nonyalela, 20 Hanu Pieterse, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Chris Horak, 23 Matthew Fortuin.

We caught up with the new Hollywoodbets Sharks XV coach Mike Vowles.

Here is what he has to say about the 2026 Carling Currie Cup.#SharksRugby #CurrieCup #PreSeason pic.twitter.com/sAGdkSfRI5

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) July 8, 2026

STORMERS XXIII vs GRIQUAS (Friday, 7:05pm)

STORMERS XXIII – TBC

GRIQUAS – 15 Gurswin Wehr, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Sako Makata, 11 Stefan Coetzee, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Dillon Smith, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Carl Els, 5 Albert Liebenberg (c), 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Ig Prinsloo, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons.
Bench: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Lourens Oosthuizen, 21 Caleb Abrahams, 22 Damian Markus, 23 Cameron Hufke.

Find out more about DHL Stormers XXIII Head Coach Tom Dawson-Squibb, the path he has already walked with us, and what to expect from his team in the Carling Currie Cup.

Watch the full profile on Stormers TV https://t.co/C2YHfe218T#inittogether #XXIII #TDS pic.twitter.com/VOvjgAYgrh

— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) July 14, 2026

CHEETAHS vs LIONS (Sunday, 1pm)

CHEETAHS – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Michael Annies, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Neels Volschenk (c), 7 Juan Venter, 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Tielman Niewoudt.
Bench: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Dux Manyama, 18 Frankie Dos Reis, 19 Simon Muller, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Ethan Wentzel, 23 Prince Nkabinde.

LIONS – TBC

BOLAND CAVALIERS vs BULLS (Sunday, 3:05pm)

BOLAND CAVALIERS – TBC

BULLS – TBC

The post Weekend teams appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Football’s greatest rivalries take center stage once again as England and Argentina lock horns in a blockbuster FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday evening, with a place in Sunday’s final at stake.

England booked their spot in the last four with an impressive victory over Norway, inspired by a brilliant brace from Jude Bellingham. Argentina, meanwhile, overcame a resilient Switzerland side thanks to a moment of magic from Julián Álvarez, whose stunning strike proved the difference.

With history, pride, and a place in the World Cup final on the line, another captivating chapter is set to be written in one of international football’s fiercest rivalries. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the semifinal showdown.

Head-to-head

Matches played 14
England wins 6
Argentina wins 3
Draws 5
England goals 24
Argentina goals 19

England and Argentina have met in 14 matches, with the Three Lions claiming six wins compared
to three for Argentina, while five games have been drawn. Five of their matches have come in the
World Cup, and include iconic clashes such as the 1986 Quarterfinal in which Diego Maradona
scored both goals in a 2-1 win for Argentina, and the 1998 Round of 16 match in which David
Beckham was sent off and the South Americans advanced on penalties.

The teams’ most recent match was a friendly in Geneva in 2005 which England won 3-2.

Players to watch

England – Jude Bellingham
Tournament stats

• Appearances: 6
• Goals: 6
• Assists: 1
• Yellow/red cards: 1/0

A brace of goals in the Quarterfinal against Norway underlined Bellingham’s importance to
England. He is not just a goal scorer, but a talismanic figure whose composure, leadership and
determination inspires his teammates to lift their games.

Argentina – Lionel Messi

Tournament stats

• Appearances: 6
• Goals: 8
• Assists: 2
• Yellow/red cards: 0/0

Lionel Messi has been brilliant for Argentina in this tournament, with 10 goal involvements (8 goals,
2 assists). He may have struggled to assert himself against Switzerland this past weekend, but you
can bet he will be hungry to take on the English defence.

Key stats

• 6 – Both Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have scored 6 goals each for England at this World
  Cup.
• 3 – The 2026 World Cup is just the third time that the Three Lions have reached the semifinals of
  the tournament.
• 0 – Argentina have never lost a World Cup semifinal in four previous appearances in this round
  (1986, 1990, 2014 and 2022).
• 8 – Lionel Messi is the tournament’s co-leading scorer, having scored 8 times (level with France’s
  Kylian Mbappe).

Tactical battle

• England and Argentina arrive in Atlanta with contrasting but equally dangerous identities. England
• under Thomas Tuchel are structured and adaptable, mixing controlled possession with mid-block
• pressing and rapid transitions, often funnelling attacks through Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane.

Argentina, by contrast, are fluid and unpredictable, shifting between systems while building around
a technically dominant midfield and Lionel Messi’s free role between the lines.

The key battle will be central control: if England’s double pivot can disrupt Argentina’s rhythm, they
can spring forward quickly. But if Argentina dictate tempo and isolate England’s defence, Messi
and their runners can exploit gaps decisively.

Broadcast details (Times CAT)
Wednesday 15 July, 21:00: Semifinal 2 – England v Argentina – Live on SuperSport World Cup Central

The post FIFA World Cup 2026: England vs Argentina full match preview appeared first on SportsAfrica - Sports news | Live scores | Match highlights | Betting tips.

L’Espagne vient de valider son ticket pour la finale de la 23e édition de la Coupe du monde. La Roja est venue à bout de l’équipe de France ce 14 juillet. Un jour lourd de symbole pour la France. Lamine Yamal et ses coéquipiers ont sorti ke grand jeu devant des supporters venus nombreux. Car […]

L’article CDM 2026 : l’Espagne donne une leçon de football à l’équipe de France est apparu en premier sur Camfoot.com.

The Springboks take on Wales for the 45th time on Saturday in Durban in a round three Nations Championship match.

The Boks have been the dominant side over the years and will start as favourites at Kings Park.

A win by the Boks will give them a 3-0 record in their first three matches of the new Nations Championship.

Here then are some interesting statistics and facts about the match-up and Bok side that will be in action this weekend.

Springbok record against Wales

Played 44; Won 36; Lost 7; Drawn 1; Points for: 1,230; Points against; 683; Tries scored: 145; Tries conceded: 57; Highest score: 96-13; Biggest win: 83 points; Win %: 81,8%.

History

The teams have met only once in Durban in 2014 – a game the Springboks won 38-16.

The last time the teams crossed paths in South Africa was in 2022 in a three-Test series. The Boks won the first Test in Pretoria 32-29, Wales won the second Test 13-12 in Bloemfontein, while the Boks won the third Test 30-14 in Cape Town.

Current form

Should the Springboks register a victory on Saturday, it will mark their 11th Test win in a row.

The Boks have won their first three games of the season – against the Barbarians (80-31), England (45-21) and Scotland (42-28).

In the Six Nations, Wales beat Italy 31-17 (h), lost to Ireland 17-27 (a), lost to Scotland 23-26 (h), lost to France 12-54 (h) and lost to England 7-48 (a). In the Nations Championship so far, Wales beat Fiji 39-24 (a) and lost to Argentina 21-35 (a).

Players

After Saturday’s clash, Damian de Allende will require only one more Test appearance after this match to earn his 100th Test cap, while Pieter-Steph du Toit will only require two more to achieve that remarkable milestone.

Cobus Reinach requires only one more try to move to 100 Test points in the green and gold.

Pieter-Steph du Toit will lead the Boks for the third time in as many weeks in this weekend’s encounter.

There are four debutants in the Bok side this week – wing Jaco Williams, flyhalf Vusi Moyo, lock Ruben van Heerden and prop Carlu Sadie.

Make-up of Bok team

The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 537.

There are 285 caps in the backline, with 252 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 188 caps.

The average caps per player in the backline is 41, the forwards 32, while the players on the bench average 24.

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 15, 2026 – After Gor Mahia, Shabana and Migori Youth, it was the turn of AFC Leopards to reap bountifully from their visit to State House, leaving with a total of Ksh 35 million.

While hosting the 12-time FKF Premier League champions, President William Ruto pledged to boost their sponsorship kitty to Ksh 100 million — by adding a further Ksh 25 million.

He also gave them Ksh 10 million, half of it as a reward to the players and technical bench with the remaining to aid in their transfer business.

“I have been told by your patron that you have a sponsorship worth Ksh 75 million from somewhere. I will boost it with Ksh 25 million from elsewhere to increase it to Ksh 100 million,” Ruto said amidst cheers from those in attendance.

The president justified the donation, noting that sports is a serious business that can take Kenya places.

“Some may ask the question…why is the president spending so much time with sportsmen and women? It is because there is no better investment than in the future of the young people of our nation. These engagements and arrangements are neither ceremonial nor incidental. They are not a diversion from government work but are a serious part of government work,” he said.

Speaking at the same time, Ingwe secretary general Isaac Mulindi said the work that President Ruto has done in the sports sector is clear for all and sundry to see.

“Who has not seen that sports infrastructure is being constructed across the country. Who can say they have not seen the work you are trying to do with the road networks. As a club we have benefited a lot; when we take our home games to Nakuru, for example, we are comfortable in the knowledge that we will travel safely and comfortably to get there,” Mulindi said.

The house on the hill has been a bustle of activities in recent months as far as sports is concerned.

President Ruto has hosted a number of sports entities for breakfast or lunch, in which case they have seldom left empty-handed.

FKF Premier League champions Gor Mahia were the first to visit State House on June 7 after which they left with bulging pockets, including Ksh 100,000 to every player as well as a Ksh 10 million grant to aid their preparations for the Caf Champions League.

Next were National Super League (NSL) champions Migori Youth who were treated to breakfast on July 13, a new team bus as well as Ksh 10 million.

On Tuesday, the president hosted the national women’s football team — senior and under 17 — promising to reward them handsomely as they prepare for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) and the Under 17 World Cup, both in Morocco.

Another club to have benefited from President Ruto’s ‘Santa Claus’ spirit are Shabana who received a bus worth Ksh 27 million, Ksh 20 million grant in addition to Ksh 1 billion towards the refurbishment of the Gusii Stadium.