PICK OF THE SPORT: Bafana Bafana have a chance to progress into the Afcon semi-finals and you don’t want to miss it, suggests Dylan Bettencourt.
Not many people, South Africans included, predicted that Bafana Bafana would progress this far in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) but here they are, with a chance of making it into the final four.
The SA team overcame the odds and defeated Morocco to make it into the quarter-finals, where they will face Cape Verde at 10 pm on Saturday.
Victory on Saturday night will see Bafana face either Nigeria or Angola in the semi-finals.
Coach Hugo Broos said that if Bafana were able to beat Morocco, they would have a clear path to the final and a chance of winning the title for the first time since 1996.
Bafana has already secured R24-million for making it this far but will be hoping they can go all the way.
The quarter-finals kick off on Friday night, with Nigeria meeting Angola at 7 pm before DR Congo takes on Guinea at 10 pm.
Before the Bafana game, Mali will face host nation Ivory Coast at 7 pm.
All the Afcon action will be live on DStv channel 202.
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The first three matches of the Six Nations tournament kick off this weekend – and the main match may well be first on the menu when France meet Ireland in Marseille.
In this short five-week tournament, the six nations play each other only once, which is why France vs Ireland may be the decider. The team that wins this match may go on to a grand slam win if they get through the tournament without a loss.
South Africa and New Zealand, between them, have left Ireland, France, Scotland and England smarting from the World Cup, while Argentina beat Wales convincingly. Italy, everybody knows, had a tournament they would like to forget. All these Northern Hemisphere teams have wounds to lick and points to prove.
As it happens, France is without Antoine Dupont and Ireland is without Johnny Sexton, adding some extra uncertain spice to the mix.
For England, it’s almost a free pass as Italy can’t possibly put up any resistance. Watching England’s Marcus Smith trying to prove that he is a better flyhalf than Owen Farrell (who has retired) is going to be a special treat.
Wales versus Scotland could go either way.
Some believe that taking the Scottish captaincy away from Jamie Ritchie may be a mistake, but Finn Russell and Rory Darge are a good choice as co-captains.
Dafydd Jenkins replaces Jac Morgan as Welsh captain and the 21-year-old had better brace himself for a baptism of fire. Wales may beat Scotland, but they will battle for the rest of the tournament.
It’s going to be a great sporting weekend.
France vs Ireland on Friday at 10 pm
Italy vs England on Saturday at 4.15 pm
Wales vs Scotland on Saturday at 6.45 pm
All matches will be live on DStv channel 211
Pictured above: Bafana celebrating their victory over Morocco.
Image source: X
