Trevor Cramer

By Trevor Cramer

Senior sports sub-editor


LISTEN: Some choice Bok banter and a chat to mini marvel Hekkie Budler

We talk head clashes, team selection and that Marx injury blow ... there's plenty going on at the Rugby World Cup in France.


It’s week two of the Rugby World Cup in France. Not much has really gone against the grain, other than perhaps the mighty All Blacks losing their opening pool game for the first time ever.

The Springbok match-23 to play Romania this week was always going to be a vastly different to that which soundly defeated Scotland last week. But coach Jacques Nienaber more than just shuffled the deck.

And…the man fondly dubbed “The Hexecutioner” by boxing fans, former multiple world champion Hekkie Budler, will step between the ropes on Monday afternoon SA-time at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan to challenge for the WBA/WBC junior flyweight world titles and Ring Magazine belt held by Japan’s Kenshiro Teraji.

Host Trevor Cramer is joined in studio by Citizen Head of Sport, Jacques van der Wethuyzen as he unpacks Jacques Nienaber’s latest Bok combination to face Romania, the controversial head-on-head collision laws and their interpretation by match officials – did Jesse Kriel get a “Get out of Jail Free” card? And we look at the massive impact of Malcolm Marx’s World Cup tournament-ending knee injury.

Trevor also hooks up on the Talking Point Hotline with Budler and his long-time trainer Nathan in Tokyo, Japan, where the former hopes to take another step towards carving out his own piece of world championship boxing history.

Find out why Hekkie isn’t in the least scared to venture into Teraji’s own backyard, is he worried by the lack of rounds under his belt in the build-up? And trainer Nathan, who knows him better than most, shares with us why his charge is more physically and mentally prepared than ever to bring it home.

Plus find out who gets our FLOP and GOLD STAR awards for the week!