The Bulls head to the Cape to face the Stormers needing a win to secure top spot, while the seemingly overmatched Aussies hope to surprise hosts England on the fourth and fifth days of what has been an engrossing first Test match.
What to watch (13-14 July):
Rugby
13 July: Vodacom Super Rugby, Stormers vs Bulls, Newlands Stadium, Cape Town, 7.05pm (SS1)
What a disappointing season for the Stormers. South Africa’s leading franchise for the past three seasons, they saw the conference title being snatched from them by a youthful and resurgent Bulls team needing a win from this historically fierce clash to seal a well-deserved number one overall position. The visitors need the victory to ensure a home semifinal and possible final should they negotiate the former, so they will be really fired up for this one. The home team, while only playing for pride, will look to sign off by proving a point against the Bulls and finishing top of the bottom nine teams, added to giving departing legend Bryan Habana (the former Prince of Loftus Versfeld) a perfect sendoff in his final match for the Cape franchise. Hopefully the Antipodean teams snapping away at the Bulls’ heels going into the final round of league fixtures stumble in the run up to the match, so that a South African team does not hurt another’s charge for glory. This will render the Noord-Suid derby irrelevant and take the fear factor out of the Bulls team, allowing both sets of players to express themselves freely.
Cricket
13 and 14 July: The Ashes, England vs Australia, Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire, 12pm (SS2)
If it’s anything to go by, the first three days of this Test have set up what should be a gripping final two in the East Midlands of England. The English appeared to have had matters under control when they had the Australians in a spot of bother, but did not bank on a relatively unknown left-handed spin bowling teenager, Ashton Agar, to counter attack beautifully in the bottom order. Agar made 98 runs in his debut innings, the highest score by a debutant number 11 batsman in the history of Test cricket. This is what all neutrals wanted to see: the oldest rivalry in cricket going down the wire. The longest version of the game might not appeal to many in comparison to its more dazzling and quick-paced Twenty20 counterpart, but I suggest you strap yourself in just this once for cricket at its purest and absorbing. I suspect England’s bowlers like Graeme Swann and James Anderson might have too much firepower and guile for the raw Aussie batsmen, though…
Others to watch:
13 and 14 July: Tour de France Stage 14 and 15 (Saint-Pourçain to Sur-Sioule, Givors to Mont Ventoux), 1.55pm (SS6)
13 July: FIFA U20 World Cup Final, France vs Uruguay,Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, 7.45pm (SS3)
13 July: Cosafa Cup Quarterfinal 2, South Africa vs Namibia, Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, 3.15pm (SS4, SABC 1)
