分类： sports

In 2018, when newly appointed South Africa rugby head coach Rassie Erasmus first crossed paths with Pieter-Steph du Toit, the veteran Springbok forward did not match what Erasmus expected. By that point, du Toit had already earned five years of international caps and claimed a South African domestic Player of the Year award, but the pair had never collaborated or met before. Erasmus’s initial assessment was harsh: he criticized du Toit for missing too many tackles, carrying the ball with poor upright form, and misread his laid-back demeanor as a lack of competitive drive. At best, Erasmus pegged him as nothing more than a useful utility option for the bench.

Today, that early assessment stands as one of the most notable misjudgments in modern rugby. “I have never been as wrong about a player as I was with Pieter-Steph, and I have never been as pleased to be so wrong,” Erasmus told SA Rugby magazine ahead of du Toit’s historic 100th test match, which takes place this Saturday against New Zealand at Cape Town. When Erasmus took the reins of the Springboks in 2018, the program was reeling from two consecutive underwhelming seasons, and his mandate was simple: rebuild the side and restore the national team’s reputation as one of the most feared forces in global rugby. It took just two training sessions for him to completely reverse his opinion of du Toit.

What Erasmus discovered defied every initial assumption. Du Toit showed relentless commitment to the Springbok jersey, unmatched tactical understanding of the game, consistent on-field contributions, and an eagerness to learn and push his own limits. He was always the first player on the training pitch and the last to leave, and staff regularly had to force him to take scheduled rest days. Pairing that relentless work ethic were innate on-field instincts, a willingness to put in the unglamorous “dirty work” that wins matches, an ability to break through defensive lines to gain critical territory, and bone-rattling tackles that disrupt opposition attacks and punish ball carriers.

The turning point that cemented du Toit’s place in Erasmus’s starting lineup came in September 2018, almost exactly a year after the Springboks suffered a demoralizing 57-0 defeat to New Zealand in Auckland. South Africa claimed a historic victory on New Zealand soil – their first in nine years – and du Toit delivered a career-defining performance, making 24 tackles over the full 80 minutes. Post-match cameras captured the forward overcome with tears, a moment that still stands as one of the most memorable in recent Springbok history. Today, the idea of leaving du Toit out of the matchday 23 is unthinkable for Erasmus. Even the Springboks’ famous “Bomb Squad” reserve forward pack, which regularly replaces starting forwards early in matches, will sub captain Siya Kolisi before they even consider pulling du Toit, who is legendary for his unrivaled fitness and endurance. He rarely comes off the pitch before the final whistle.

Du Toit’s journey to 100 caps has been defined by hardship and perseverance that stretches back to his childhood and his family’s deep rugby roots. Raised on the wine and olive farm outside Cape Town that his grandfather – legendary 1960s Springbok prop Piet “Spiere” (which translates to “Muscles” in Afrikaans) du Toit – bought in the 1950s and which remains in the family today, du Toit dreamed of being a great Springbok from a young age, raised on stories and mementos of his grandfather’s iconic career.

But his path to this historic milestone has been anything but smooth. Multiple serious injuries delayed his march to 100 tests: a cracked sternum, repeated shoulder injuries, and two ACL reconstructions – the second of which used a hamstring tendon donated by his father to speed up his recovery ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. His World Cup debut ended in humiliation, as the Springboks suffered their infamous “Miracle of Brighton” loss to Japan, with du Toit among the players criticized for being deployed out of position.

His most harrowing injury came in 2020, just months after he led South Africa to the 2019 World Cup title and claimed the World Rugby Player of the Year award. A thigh hematoma developed into acute compartment syndrome, a dangerous buildup of internal pressure that required emergency surgery the same night. Surgeons made a 40-centimeter cut along his thigh, and when nerve function failed to improve after the procedure, doctors even discussed the possibility of amputation. Only after du Toit lost 10 kilograms was a fourth successful operation possible to close the wound and save his leg.

Through every setback, du Toit’s relentless drive to improve never faded. In the 2019 World Cup final victory over England, he made 20 tackles and immediately sought out forwards coach Matt Proudfoot after the final whistle to ask what he could do better. “He’s a no-nonsense guy who doesn’t seek validation,” Proudfoot said of du Toit. “He just wants to know what he’s got to do. He doesn’t say much but the group listens. He just puts it out there. Being a Springbok matters to him.”

Du Toit himself acknowledges he is far more comfortable leading by example than delivering rousing speeches. “I’m a strong believer in actions speak louder than words,” he said. “The way you perform on the field or the way you live your life must tell your story, ‘Okay, these are the morals of this guy.’ And if you can do that, nothing has to be said.”

That said, one unscripted, emotional speech from du Toit became a defining moment of South Africa’s 2023 World Cup title run. Trailing England 12-6 at halftime of the Paris semifinal, Erasmus left the changing room to an eerie silence. Du Toit stood up and asked his teammates point-blank – with plenty of profanity – whether they were scared or ready to fight. When the speech was featured in *Chasing the Sun 2*, the documentary covering South Africa’s championship run, du Toit worried his raw language would set a bad example for young fans. But any concerns about his reputation were erased weeks later, when he delivered a masterclass in the final against New Zealand, making a staggering 28 tackles without a single miss and being named Man of the Match on the way to a second world title. Then-head coach Jacques Nienaber joked at the time, “If there’s a white plastic bag that blows over the pitch, he’d probably chase that down as well.”

This Saturday, du Toit will write another chapter in Springbok history as he becomes the 11th player in the program’s history to earn 100 test caps, and the sixth to reach that milestone under Erasmus’s tenure as either head coach or director of rugby. For a player once written off as a bench utility, the milestone is a testament to perseverance, grit, and the power of quiet dedication.

A diplomatic and sporting controversy has overshadowed the second Test between Pakistan and England at Lord’s, after reports emerged that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threatened to abandon the ongoing three-match tour over a planned Sky Sports interview with the imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister and cricket legend Imran Khan’s two sons.

The interview, featuring Suleiman and Kasim Khan, aired during the lunch break on the opening day of the Lord’s Test. In the sit-down conversation hosted by former England captain Michael Atherton, the pair raised urgent concerns about the prison treatment and personal security of their 73-year-old father, while also criticizing the British government’s public response to his detention. Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to its historic 1992 Cricket World Cup victory and served as the country’s prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been held in prison since 2023 on corruption charges he has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

According to insider sources, the PCB warned the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that it would call off the Lord’s Test and the remaining matches of the tour if the interview went ahead. Despite receiving a pre-broadcast complaint about the segment, Sky Sports went ahead and aired a edited version of the conversation. Pakistani public broadcaster PTV, which holds domestic rights to the tour and uses Sky’s broadcast footage, opted to cut the interview from its domestic transmission.

In the wake of the incident, Pakistan’s head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has claimed he and the full national squad had no advance knowledge of the PCB’s threat. Speaking to reporters at the close of play on day two, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper dismissed any suggestion that the team considered refusing to return to the field after lunch for the afternoon session.

“I don’t know anything. I’m just focusing on the match,” Sarfaraz said. “You’re talking about the interview? We don’t know about the interview. All are OK. We were having lunch at that time.”

The ECB confirmed it sought official guidance from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office amid rising tensions over the broadcast. Ultimately, the Pakistan side did return to the pitch after the lunch break, and the Test has proceeded without further disruption through the end of day two. As of the close of play on day two, England held a 261-run first innings lead, moving to 81 for three in their second innings. Sky Sports also confirmed it received no additional formal complaints regarding the interview after broadcast.

Notably, this incident marks a rare high-profile moment of off-field tension in recent cricket relations between the two nations. After a 17-year hiatus in England tours to Pakistan driven by widespread security concerns, this will be the fourth separate England tour to Pakistan in four years, when the side travels to the country in October for a tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The controversy also echoes an unprecedented incident from 2006, when a Test between the two sides at The Oval was abandoned after Pakistan refused to return to the field following tea on day four, in protest at a ball-tampering accusation from match officials. That match ended with Pakistan being forfeited — the only instance of a Test match forfeiture in the 147-year history of international Test cricket.

The PCB is currently led by chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also holds the official position of Pakistan’s interior minister.

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — The final round of U.S. Open qualifying delivered one of the most emotional, generational matches of the 2024 hard court swing, as rising Japanese prospect Rei Sakamoto earned his spot in the tournament’s main draw — at the expense of the country’s greatest men’s tennis star, who was chasing one last Grand Slam appearance to cap his final professional season.

Delayed one full day by persistent rain, the winner-take-all final qualifying clash on Friday ended with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory for 20-year-old Sakamoto, capping a stunning run that pushed the 36-year-old Nishikori out of the final Grand Slam of the year and brought a poignant end to his bid for one last major spotlight.

For the young up-and-comer, the win was everything he had dreamed of — except for who it came against. Sakamoto grew up idolizing Nishikori, recalling vividly when he was just 8 years old watching the veteran star become the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final at the 2014 U.S. Open, a breakthrough that reshaped Japanese tennis forever.

“I honestly grew up watching him play and he was my idol for my whole life,” Sakamoto told reporters after the match. “It’s also a pity to see his last season.”

Sakamoto typically avoids looking at the qualifying draw ahead of his matches to avoid distractions, but this matchup was impossible to miss. Even before the final round, his mother spoiled the pairing, texting him after the initial draw was released: “Hey, I hope you can make it to the final and play Kei.”

Nishikori, a former world No. 4 who has battled chronic injuries for nearly a decade, announced earlier this year that 2024 would be his final season on tour, with his retirement planned following the Japan Open later this fall. His ranking had dropped too far to earn a direct main draw spot at the U.S. Open, but tournament officials awarded him a wild card into qualifying, giving him a shot to extend his Grand Slam career one last time.

The veteran lived up to expectations through the first two qualifying rounds, picking up two wins to set up the clash with Sakamoto. He even saved two match points from the young star Friday, pushing the second-set tiebreaker to a competitive finish. But Sakamoto’s power prevailed, as he fired 19 aces total, closing out the match with a final unreturnable serve that sent him through.

Despite the disappointing loss, Nishikori embraced the moment as a passing of the torch, praising Sakamoto as the future of Japanese men’s tennis. “Not happy to lose today, but I’m happy for Rei,” he said after the match. “He’s the next Japanese top player.”

After the final point, U.S. Open officials honored Nishikori with a framed portrait of his career highlights on court, with Sakamoto joining the legend to hold the frame for a commemorative photo. For Sakamoto, the milestone of reaching his first U.S. Open main draw carried a heavy, bittersweet weight.

“I think a lot of people, most of the people still follow tennis because of him,” Sakamoto said. “So he’s a superstar and he did a lot to Japanese tennis I think.”

Top men’s seed Alexander Zverev echoed that sentiment, noting that injuries cut short what would have been one of the greatest careers in modern men’s tennis. “I think his career would have been one of the best, maybe on a similar level to maybe an Andy Murray or Stan Wawrinka if he didn’t have so many injuries, because he was injured a lot, especially in his prime,” Zverev said. “Once he got up to No. 4 in the world, No. 5 in the world, every single time he got injured. So I’d say in that aspect he was a little bit unlucky, but from a tennis point of view, he was amazing.”

While Nishikori’s exit dominated the qualifying storylines, other notable results unfolded across the qualifying courts. 2024 Olympic women’s singles gold medalist Zheng Qinwen secured a comeback three-set win to book her main draw spot, while 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu — who has spent much of her post-title career sidelined by injury — blew a late lead and fell in three sets. Former semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the main draw Thursday after his opponent withdrew from their final qualifying match, in a twist that echoes the 2019 tournament where Dimitrov beat Roger Federer in what became Federer’s final U.S. Open match.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Just 24 hours before South Africa hosts New Zealand in the second clash of a high-stakes four-test rugby series, two key starting players have been pulled from the match day lineup, the South African Rugby Union confirmed Friday.

Star flyhalf Handré Pollard was ruled out after picking up a minor but problematic muscle injury during Wednesday’s training session, with multiple reports pointing to a strained calf as the source of discomfort. The veteran playmaker underwent a formal fitness assessment Friday morning, but failed to meet the match readiness standards required to start this weekend’s game at Cape Town Stadium.

Taking Pollard’s place in the starting number 10 jersey will be Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who returns to the first XV, while Manie Libbok has been called up to join the team’s reserve bench for the fixture.

The second late change sees starting winger Kurt-Lee Arendse step back from the lineup, a swap driven by the timely recovery of fan-favorite Cheslin Kolbe. Kolbe was forced to exit last weekend’s opening test at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park with a combination of hamstring and ankle injuries, but has successfully worked his way back to full fitness in time for this round.

New Zealand claimed a commanding 33-16 victory in the first test, putting them 1-0 up in the four-test series and putting pressure on the South African side to respond in front of a home crowd this Saturday. These two changes mark the only adjustments South Africa has made to their starting 15, with the other new additions being captain and flanker Siya Kolisi and left winger Ethan Hooker, brought in ahead of the match week.

TOKYO — In a turning point that resolves a high-profile standoff over player eligibility rules, Japan Rugby League One officials announced Friday a legal settlement that reverses proposed restrictions on naturalized Japanese rugby players born outside the country.

The controversy emerged earlier this year when league officials drafted new eligibility rules set to take effect ahead of the upcoming season kicking off in December. Under the original proposal, players holding Japanese passports who were born overseas and did not complete their childhood education in Japan would have been placed in a restricted eligibility category, limiting their ability to compete as full members of top-tier squads.

The rule change drew immediate pushback from 24 affected players, all of whom hold Japanese citizenship but were born outside Japan. The group filed a lawsuit against the league in a Japanese court to block the policy, counting among their ranks Timothy Lafaele — a star player who represented Japan in the 2019 Rugby World Cup hosted on home soil.

Following out-of-court negotiations, the league confirmed in an official statement Friday that it would revise the contested eligibility requirements. Per the new terms, any player who obtains Japanese citizenship on or before the end of May 2025 will be granted the same full eligibility status as players born in Japan, eliminating the proposed tiered categorization for naturalized athletes. The statement confirmed a settlement had been reached in the ongoing court case but did not release further details on the terms of the agreement.

The debate over rugby eligibility comes amid a broader national conversation about immigration in Japan, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pushed for stricter immigration policies amid public anxiety. Many Japanese citizens have linked slow wage growth and rising living costs to an increase in foreign workers brought in to offset labor shortages driven by Japan’s decades-long population decline and shrinking working-age population.

Globally, it is common for international and domestic sports governing bodies to adjust eligibility rules, whether to gain a competitive advantage on the pitch or to drive commercial growth for leagues. Rule changes that reshape athlete eligibility often face fierce pushback, however, particularly when critics argue the changes risk sidelining domestic, locally developed players.

League officials had initially defended the proposed restrictions, arguing that limiting opportunities for foreign-born naturalized players would help nurture and expand the shrinking pool of Japan-born athletes emerging through domestic development pathways.