Euro champs target Bok prop

Back-to-back Investec Champions Cup winners Bordeaux Bègles are reportedly hoping to sign another South African.

According to RugbyPass, Stormers and Springbok loosehead prop Ntuthuko Mchunu has emerged as a target for the French Top 14 club as they look to strengthen their front row for next season.

The 27-year-old joined the Stormers from the Sharks last year and has made seven appearances for the Cape side. esporist.com

Mchunu has also earned four Springbok caps, all from the bench, with his most recent Test appearance coming against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in July.

He could become the latest South African to join a growing contingent at Bordeaux, who already have prop Carlü Sadie, lock/flank Tiaan Jacobs, loose forward Jean-Luc du Preez and centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg on their books.

Stormers centre Dan du Plessis also recently joined the French club.

ALSO: Bulls lock in Bok hooker

Bath and England prop Beno Obano is another player on Bordeaux’s radar, with RugbyPass reporting that he recently held talks with the club and was shown around their training facilities.

Photo: Steve Haag/Getty Images

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La Ligue 1 offre déjà une affiche de choix pour cette 2e journée. L’AS Monaco reçoit l’Olympique de Marseille ce dimanche 30 août au Stade Louis-II, dans un duel entre deux équipes qui ont parfaitement lancé leur saison.

Vainqueur du Havre lors de la première journée (1-0), Monaco veut confirmer devant son public. Les Monégasques restent également sur une qualification convaincante pour la phase de ligue de la Ligue Conférence après leur succès contre le Górnik Zabrze (4-1).

En face, l’OM arrive en Principauté avec le plein de confiance après son large succès contre Strasbourg (4-0). Les Marseillais espèrent poursuivre sur cette dynamique et décrocher une deuxième victoire consécutive en championnat.

Un duel qui promet donc d’être intense entre deux prétendants ambitieux, avec trois points précieux déjà en jeu.

The post AS Monaco – OM : un premier choc déjà très attendu appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Though she crashed to the tar and crossed the finish line with some scrapes and bruises, it was the wind that hindered Tayla Kavanagh most, ending any real chance she had of breaking the national women’s record at the Hollywoodbets 10km race in Durban on Sunday.

Kavanagh was on SA record pace when a male runner cut in front of her shortly before the 4km mark, and she tumbled.

Springing back to her feet a few seconds later, it didn’t take long for the 25-year-old distance runner to regain her momentum, and she managed to increase her intensity.

Though she looked more determined after the fall, however, a strong headwind in the second half slowed her down as she completed the race with some scratches and bruises in 31:39.

She was 27 seconds outside the SA record held by Glenrose Xaba, finishing comfortably clear of Hollywood Athletics Club teammate Neheng Khatala who took second place in 32:01.

“No matter what happens, I always tell myself you’ve got to get up and keep going, so after I took a fall that’s exactly what I told myself mentally: ‘Just get up. You’ve still got to put in the work and get the job done’,” Kavanagh said after the race.

“So I recollected myself and tried to use that adrenaline to keep going, and I’m really happy I still managed to take the win.”

‘Patience is key’

Having found impressive consistency, dipping under 31:40 four times this season over the 10km distance on the road, Kavanagh was confident she could break Xaba’s record. But she admitted she needed to wait for better conditions to be able to challenge the national mark.

“I do respect the record but I think it will come on a good day when everything is aligned and it all comes together,” Kavanagh said.

“It’s something I want to have my name next to, but patience is key and today wasn’t the day for it.”

Middle-distance track specialist Tshepo Tshite launched a late kick on Sunday to win the men’s race in 28:18, finishing three seconds ahead of Kenyan athlete Stephen Kangethe who took the runner-up spot in 28:21.

Après sept saisons sous le maillot de l’AC Milan, Rafael Leão a officiellement choisi de donner une nouvelle direction à sa carrière. À 27 ans, l’ailier portugais rejoint Galatasaray, où il s’est engagé jusqu’en 2030. Le club stambouliote a déboursé 38 millions d’euros pour convaincre les Rossoneri et a offert au joueur un salaire annuel de 10 millions d’euros. Milan conserve par ailleurs 20 % des droits sur une future revente, laissant ouverte la possibilité d’une nouvelle opération financière à l’avenir.

Une histoire milanaise qui aura marqué sa carrière

Débarqué en Lombardie à l’été 2019 après une saison au LOSC, Leão aura grandi au fil des années pour devenir l’une des principales figures offensives de l’AC Milan. Son passage restera associé à des statistiques solides, avec 291 rencontres disputées, 80 buts inscrits et 65 passes décisives. Surtout, le Portugais a participé à la conquête du titre de champion d’Italie en 2021-2022, l’un des moments forts de son aventure milanaise. Après une dernière saison moins convaincante sur le plan individuel, l’idée d’un changement d’air avait progressivement pris de l’ampleur, jusqu’à son départ désormais acté.

Galatasaray lui ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre européenne

À Istanbul, Leão ne quitte pas la scène européenne : il retrouvera la Ligue des champions avec une équipe de Galatasaray ambitieuse. Et le tirage lui a réservé un rendez-vous particulièrement symbolique. Le Portugais retrouvera en effet le LOSC, son ancien club, lors de la phase de ligue, avec un déplacement prévu dans le Nord Français le 21 octobre. Quelques années après avoir quitté Lille pour Milan, puis construit une grande partie de sa carrière en Italie, Leão s’apprête donc à écrire un nouveau chapitre, cette fois au cœur de la Turquie.

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SYDNEY, Australia, Aug 30 – World champion Peres Jepchirchir added another title in her glitering trophy cabinet after winning her fourth World Major Series in Sydney Marathon on Sunday morning.

Jepchirchir was a clear winner of the women’s race in 2:18:31 at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race, leading her fellow Kenyan Irine Cheptai (2:22:11) to a 1-2 finish.

In the corresponding men’s race, Ethiopian Addisu Gobena broke the course record in a time of 2:04:42, while the top Kenyan Vincent Ngetich (2:05:28) finished seventh.

Jepchirchir, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, gradually reeled in early leader Priscah Cherono before breaking away from Cheptai after 30km.

The Kenyan went on to win by more than three minutes in 2:18:31, just nine seconds shy of the course record set by Sifan Hassan last year.

The women’s race unfolded in very different fashion as 46-year-old Kenyan veteran Cherono made an audacious early break.

The 2007 world 5000m bronze medallist passed 5km in 15:34, with Jepchirchir leading a 10-woman chase group 13 seconds behind.

Cherono extended her advantage to 23 seconds at 10km, which she reached in 31:37 – 16 seconds faster than her official PB for the distance, set in 2002.

She continued to lead through 15km in 48:20, although her margin had been cut to 15 seconds over Jepchirchir and 2017 world cross-country champion Cheptai. The Kenyan pair had in turn opened a small gap on Tanzania’s Magdalena Shauri and Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye.

Cherono was still clear at halfway, reaching that point in 1:07:58 – 37 seconds faster than her official half marathon PB from 2012. Jepchirchir and Cheptai were 29 seconds behind.

The pace put the leaders well ahead of the schedule set during Hassan’s course-record victory last year, when the Dutch athlete passed halfway in 1:10:01 before winning in 2:18:22.

Cherono’s advantage gradually disappeared, though, and shortly before 28km Jepchirchir and Cheptai caught her. The Kenyan trio passed 30km together in 1:37:48, equivalent to 2:17:34 pace, and were already 1:46 clear of Uganda’s Stella Chesang in fourth.

Cherono finally began to lose contact a couple of kilometres later, leaving the two pre-race favourites together at the front.

Jepchirchir then began to pull away from Cheptai before 35km, reaching that checkpoint in 1:54:47 – exactly on course-record pace. Although her tempo gradually slowed over the final kilometres, her advantage over the rest of the field continued to grow.

By 40km she led Cheptai by about two minutes and the Olympic and world champion was able to enjoy an unchallenged run to the finish, crossing the line in 2:18:31.

Cheptai held on for second in 2:22:11, while Ethiopia’s Shure Demise came through to take third in 2:22:33. Cherono eventually finished sixth but was rewarded for her aggressive run with a PB of 2:23:49, more than a minute faster than the mark she had brought into the race.

Leading results

Women

1 Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:18:31

2 Irine Cheptai (KEN) 2:22:11

3 Shure Demise (ETH) 2:22:33

4 Haven Hailu (ETH) 2:22:57

5 Meseret Abebayahu (ETH) 2:23:40

6 Priscah Cherono (KEN) 2:23:49

7 Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:23:52

8 Fikrte Wereta (ETH) 2:25:18

9 Ellie Pashley (AUS) 2:28:28

10 Aberu Ayana (ETH) 2:28:30

Men

1 Addisu Gobena (ETH) 2:04:42

2 Chimdessa Debele (ETH) 2:04:46

3 Tebello Ramakongoana (LES) 2:04:57

4 Alphonce Simbu (TAN) 2:04:57

5 Jemal Mekonnen (ETH) 2:04:59

6 Hailemaryam Kiros (ETH) 2:05:16

7 Vincent Ngetich (KEN) 2:05:28

8 Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:06:41

9 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 2:06:50

10 Gilbert Kibet (KEN) 2:07:13