The gentleman’s game played by hooligans should make for riveting viewing, but an intriguing Formula One race together with the men’s and women’s singles finals at Wimbledon and the Tour de France will also entertain sports junkies.
What to watch (6-7 July)
Rugby
6 July: British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia, Australia vs The Lions, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, 11.45am (SS1)
Vodacom Super Rugby, Cheetahs vs Blues, Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein, 2.15pm (SS1)
Southern Kings vs Stormers, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, 4.55pm (SS1)
Bulls vs Sharks, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, 7.05pm (SS1)
SATURDAY, BLOODY SATURDAY! The Super Rugby playoff fate of most South African teams will be decided on Saturday. The Bulls are safely through but they need two consecutive wins – against the resurgent Sharks and Stormers – to assure themselves a home semi-final (and a possible final should they get there). The Cheetahs, looking destined for the playoffs not too long ago, find themselves teetering a little and are up against fellow playoff hopefuls, New Zealand’s Auckland Blues in a decisive clash. The Sharks’ hopes hang by a thread, and things are made that much more difficult by them having to go through the Bulls to get a wildcard placing. Ditto for the
Stormers – tied with Sharks on points – who should fancy a fullhouse of points against the already-relegated but obstinate Southern Kings. Supporters of these teams should have calculators at the ready because any try, penalty, conversion or drop kick will impact the log with each passing minute. There is also a small matter of a Test series and 12-year-long bragging rights up for grabs in the land Down Under.
Cycling
6-7 July: Tour de France, Stage 8 (Castres/Ax 3 Domaines) and Stage 9 (Saint-Girons/Bagnères-de-Bigorre), 2pm (SS6)
Impey! Wo ‘nants’ Impey uyeza!
Obani bengathinta ibhubesi?
(Sung to the tune of ‘Impi’ by Johnny Clegg and Savuka)
I haven’t the foggiest idea of what constitutes good racing in cycling other than a rider winning a stage or the race, and South Africa’s Daryl Impey is doing just that in Europe. He became the first Japie (and African) to don the famous yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, given to the current leader of the Tour de France. We are pouring all our hope and belief into him winning the whole shebang, which
is why you have no choice but to glue your eyes to the screen this weekend! He must keep it up for the next 14 stages and some 2000km! Get in, boy!
Motorsport
7 July: German F1 Grand Prix, Nürburgring, Rhineland-Palatinate, 1.30pm (SS2)
Red Bull Racing-Renault driver Sebastian Vettel appeared to be cantering towards his fourth consecutive world title going into
the last few laps of last weekend’s tyre-burst ridden race in Britain, but a gear-change break down halted his imperious march. He has no choice but to win an elusive maiden race on home soil, with Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Finnish Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus-Renault) and Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) now back in contention and poised to pounce on any mistakes. Many of us have long
since learnt to not be bold with predicting F1 races, and accordingly, hope that mechanical failure does not blight what promises to be an intriguing race.
Tennis
6 July: Wimbledon women’s singles championship final, Marion Bartoli vs Sabine Lisicki, SW19, 3pm (SS2)
7 July: Wimbledon men’s championship final, TBC, SW19, 3pm (SS2)
Forgive me for sounding churlish and a little aristocratic, but this year’s Wimbledon tournament should be referred to as the No-Name Brand Championships! Tell me if you’d heard of 15th seed Frenchwoman Marion Baroli or 24th ranked German Sabine Lisick going into this tournament. Exactly! But these two ladies have reignited the magic and romance of the underdog story by booking a spot in the final after seeing hot favourites like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, which proves that they aren’t ordinary. Here is to hoping that their final is an epic; a rare occurrence in women’s tennis usually blighted by landslide 6-0, 6-1 victories which make you wonder why you bothered to watch a match in the first place. As for the men’s final, earlier casualties included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, pitting number one seed Serbian Novak Djokovic against eight seed Argentinian giant Juan Martin del Potro in the first semi-final, and Scotland’s number two seed Andy Murray against number 24 Jerzy Janowicz from Poland. One would expect Djokovic to break British hearts again by smacking around Murray on Sunday, but don’t ever believe the truth of sport. Expect the unexpected…
