Springboks clinch Rugby Championship, Banyana Banyana defend Cosafa title

[Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( [Web Version]( Monday, 12 August 2019 “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records." William Arthur Ward, American Writer Maverick Sports' [Yanga Sibembe]( and [Jonah Dylan]( unpack the weekend's big sports stories. Whether you prefer cricket over basketball or the other way round, Mav Sports has you covered. [Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( Fasten your seatbelts! Or in this case, fasten your laces. It's been another bumper sports week. South Africa emphatically thumped Argentina 46-13 on Saturday night to clinch the [Rugby Championship]( for the first time since 2009. The Springboks delivered a clinical attacking performance and a powerful forward display to outsmart and outmuscle their South American hosts at the high altitude venue in Salta. The win was by the biggest margin (33 points) in the 17 matches under the tutelage of Rassie Erasmus, and took the team’s try tally in this year’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship to 11. Australia beat New Zealand to finish second in the competition. The Springbok Women kicked off their campaign with a stunning 89-5 victory against Uganda on Friday at the Bosman Stadium in Brakpan. The team racked up an impressive 15 tries with lock Rights Mkhari and fullback Eloise Webb earning hat-tricks, while Zintle Mpupha (centre), Snenhlanhla Shozi (winger) and Sinazo Mcatshulwa (flanker) scored braces. The team will next line up against Madagascar on Tuesday, 13 August, and Kenya on Saturday, 17 August, in their remaining matches. The team at the top of the standings after the three rounds of matches will qualify automatically for the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The fifth round of the Currie Cup saw a big reshuffle of log positions. The Xerox Golden Lions suffered a nail-biting first defeat of the season at the hands of the visiting Vodacom Blue Bulls at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday afternoon (31-26), but managed to move into top spot of the log, albeit to a better points' difference than Tafel Lager Griquas, who had a bye. The defeat of the Joburg pride means that all teams have tasted defeat so far in the tournament, with the gut-wrenching 27-20 defeat of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs to the Cell C Sharks in Durban consigning them to two defeats in a row. The Bloemfontein side hung on to third place on the log, but with only two rounds of regular play left they would want to change their fortunes and pick up momentum as the playoffs loom. The Phakisa Pumas travelled to Cape Town on Friday, where a Bok-laden DHL Western Province side had too much to offer and won on a canter. The bonus-point 45-14 win by the Cape side moved them into fourth place on the log and right back in contention. In football Banyana Banyana successfully defended their Cosafa Women's Championship. South Africa beat Zambia, who were playing in their first-ever final in the competition, 1-0. The victory came courtesy of a Tiisetso Makhubela strike, her second of the tournament. This is Banyana's third consecutive title and they finished the tournament as the top scorers with 27 goals. Just as we waxed lyrical about the Absa Premiership having a high scoring weekend last week, it went back to same old, same old this weekend. Baroka got the 1-goal trend going on Tuesday as they shocked Bidvest Wits 1-0. On Friday Highlands Park drew one-all with Maritzburg United, while on Saturday there were 1-0 wins for Polokwane City, Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs. Bloemfontein Celtic did make up for the goal drought though. They pummelled Golden Arrows 5-0, with Arrows coach Steve Komphela being criticised for celebrating with the Celtic fans after the game. Abroad, there was no shortage of goals as the English Premiership made its return. There were huge wins for Liverpool, who thumped new boys Norwich 4-1 and Manchester City, who whopped West Ham 5-0, with Raheem Sterling grabbing the first hat-trick of the season. City's neighbours Manchester United bulldozed Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford, handing them their biggest opening day defeat in their 104-year-history. Arsenal got off to a firing start, clinching a 1-0 victory at Newcastle. It's still early days, but it seems like we're in for another two-horse between City and Liverpool, with the rest scrambling it out for European football. So I guess Andrea Dovizioso and Brad Binder are avid readers of Maverick Sport. How else do you explain the fact that we put down a challenge to see if anyone can stop the Marquez brothers in Moto GP, and Dovizioso and Binder managed to hold both brothers off to win at the Austrian Open? Binder was first off, riding to his first Moto2 victory of the season with a strong and defiant performance at the Red Bull Ring. It was the perfect win for the South African as he was turning 24 on race day. Dovizioso on the hand broke a nine-race winless run as his duel with Marquez Senior went down to the wire. With victory Dovi has trimmed Marquez’s MotoGP world championship lead to 58 points with eight rounds to go in the 2019 campaign. Two South African cricket legends, Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla, announced their retirement from international cricket. Steyn announced his retirement from Tests, but will still be available for One Day Internationals and Twenty20s. Amla though announced that he is stepping away from all forms of international cricket, but will still be available for domestic cricket. Water Cooler Talking Points Need a quick sports talking point to impress your co-workers? We've got you covered. In tennis all roads lead to the US Open. The United States-based grand slam is exactly two weeks away. And the Rogers Cup, which is one of the best dress rehearsals for the tournament, came to a close this weekend. Rafa Nadal and Canadian Bianca Andreescu were the last man and woman standing. [Nadal routed Daniil Medvedev]( 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday to win his 35th ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal. Nadal, defending the title he won in 2018 in Toronto, needed just 70 minutes to add a fifth Canadian title to his resume. Teenager [Andreescu was victorious in the women's final]( after Serena Williams retired injured. Mariska Venter and her Russian partner Polina Shakirova clinched the Memorial Jens Vanherck ITF Futures doubles title in Belgium on Sunday. The South African-Russian duo saw off Najwa Awane and Ilse van Burgwal 6-3, 6-0. Anthony Joshua will have his chance to avenge his defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Junior. The heavyweight rematch will take place on 7 December 2019, in Saudi Arabia. Patrick Reed fired a two-under-par 69 on Sunday[to win the US PGA Tour Northern Trust]( tournament, his first victory since his 2018 Masters triumph. Reed's overnight lead at Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey, evaporated with back-to-back bogeys at the second and third holes. But two back-nine birdies, at the 14th and 16th, were enough to lift the American to a seventh career title on 16-under 268 – one stroke in front of Mexico's Abraham Ancer. South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen finished tied 6th. [Daily Maverick Best Sellers]( Our list is compiled from print sales data and other sources. It represents the bestselling books in South Africa from the previous four weeks to 31 July 2019, and combines Fiction and Non-fiction best sellers. In Play By EPA-EFE/VALERIE BLUM Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Daniil Medvedev of Russia during their finals match of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada, 11 August 2019. Coming Up This Week Select PSL Fixtures: Orlando Pirates vs Supersport United (Wednesday 14 August, 19:30 SAST) Mamelodi Sundowns vs Chippa United (Wednesday 14 August, 19:30 SAST) For full fixtures click [here]( The Ashes England vs Australia (Wednesday 14 August, 12:00 SAST) Uefa Supercup Liverpool vs Chelsea (Wednesday 14 August, 21:00 SAST) Springboks Homecoming Test South Africa vs Argentina (Saturday 17 August, 17:05 SAST) Want more from us? Follow us on Twitter [@ArakibaArts]( and [@TheJonahDylan]( In Numbers 439 The number of wickets Dale Steyn took in test cricket, the most by a South African bowler. The 36-year-old last Monday announced his retirement from the longest format in the game. He will however still be availabe for One Day Internationals and T20s. On Daily Maverick Right Now [What the competition tells us about Rugby World Cup preparations]( [What the competition tells us about Rugby World Cup preparations]( By Leonard Solms [The rugby nations that make refs see red]( [The rugby nations that make refs see red]( By Antoinette Muller [Musical chairs: The Bafana Bafana edition]( [Musical chairs: The Bafana Bafana edition]( By Yanga Sibembe [ANALYSIS: Proteas on the ropes – will new brooms sweep clean?]( [ANALYSIS: Proteas on the ropes – will new brooms sweep clean?]( By Colin Bryden [TURNAROUND TIME: Bafana Bafana’s coaching merry-go-round]( [TURNAROUND TIME: Bafana Bafana’s coaching merry-go-round]( By Antoinette Muller [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? 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