Just Plain Sport

Just Plain Sport ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ"The Home of Legends and Heroes"

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ URC IS BACK - ALL SOUTH AFRICAN TEAMS ARE IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND ๐Ÿ‰The Stormers, Lions, Sharks and Bulls all play in R...
23/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ URC IS BACK - ALL SOUTH AFRICAN TEAMS ARE IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND ๐Ÿ‰

The Stormers, Lions, Sharks and Bulls all play in Round 1 of the Vodacom URC this weekend ๐Ÿ”ฅ The Lions host back-to-back champions Leinster at Ellis Park!

โฐ Fri: Connacht vs Stormers, 20:45
โฐ Sat: Lions vs Leinster, 13:30
โฐ Sat: Sharks vs Ospreys, 16:00
โฐ Sat: Zebre Parma vs Bulls, 18:30
(All SA time, live on SuperSport ๐Ÿ“บ)

Who are you backing? ๐Ÿค” Drop your team in the comments ๐Ÿ‘‡

Every kick-off and where to watch here:
https://justplainsport.com/rugby/urc-round-1-sa-kick-off-times/

๐ŸŽ‰ BAKKIES BOTHA: THE ORIGINAL SPRINGBOK ENFORCER TURNS 47 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‰Bakkies Botha, the lock from Newcastle, won 85 Springbok ca...
23/09/2026

๐ŸŽ‰ BAKKIES BOTHA: THE ORIGINAL SPRINGBOK ENFORCER TURNS 47 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‰

Bakkies Botha, the lock from Newcastle, won 85 Springbok caps, started the 2007 World Cup final win over England in Paris and helped beat the Lions 2-1 in 2009 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ

At Toulon he added three straight European Cups and a Top 14 title, and Bernard Laporte called him the greatest player he ever coached. For all the bans, he was never once sent off in a Test.

โธป
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ "Eighty-five Tests, a World Cup winner's medal, three European Cups and never once sent off โ€” Bakkies Botha played right on the line and made everyone else worry about where it was!"
โ€“ Jay
โธป

The full tribute to Springbok number four โฌ‡๏ธ
https://justplainsport.com/rugby/bakkies-botha-springbok-enforcer/

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ ESTERHUIZEN LEADS NEW-LOOK BOK TEAM IN PERTH AGAINST AUSTRALIA ๐Ÿ”ฅAndre Esterhuizen leads the Springboks for the first ...
22/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ ESTERHUIZEN LEADS NEW-LOOK BOK TEAM IN PERTH AGAINST AUSTRALIA ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Andre Esterhuizen leads the Springboks for the first time on Sunday, becoming the 68th player to captain South Africa as Rassie Erasmus rings 13 changes for the one-off Test at Optus Stadium in Perth. Jasper Wiese also earns his 50th Test cap off the bench.

New front row, a fresh halfback pairing in Jantjies and Pollard, and Esterhuizen partnering Canan Moodie in midfield โ€” see the full 23 Erasmus has picked to face Australia.

See the full team here:
https://justplainsport.com/rugby/esterhuizen-captains-the-springboks/

๐ŸŽ‚ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PROF HANNES โ€” CAPTAIN OF THE 1971 UNBEATEN SPRINGBOK TOUR ๐Ÿ‰Hannes Marais turned 85 today. He captained...
21/09/2026

๐ŸŽ‚ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PROF HANNES โ€” CAPTAIN OF THE 1971 UNBEATEN SPRINGBOK TOUR ๐Ÿ‰

Hannes Marais turned 85 today. He captained the only Springbok side to complete a long tour unbeaten, winning all three Tests in Australia in 1971 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ

He played 35 Tests at tight-head, 11 as captain, and scored one try, against Wales at Kings Park in 1964. He played all four Tests against the 1968 Lions while representing North Eastern Cape, and was part of the 1970 series win over the All Blacks. He then returned from a retina operation to captain against the 1974 Lions.

Away from rugby, he became a professor of animal science and served as a Springbok selector through the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

โธป
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ "WOW, he captained the only Springbok side ever to finish a long tour unbeaten! Prof Hannes is a true South African Sport Legend!" โ€“ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธJay
โธป

See how a Karoo farm boy became Springbok 390 hereโฌ‡๏ธ
https://justplainsport.com/rugby/hannes-marais-1971/

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ OLYMPIC QUEEN TATJANA RETURNS AT SA SHORT COURSE CHAMPS ๐ŸŠโ€โ™€๏ธTatjana Smith is back! South Africa's most decorated Olym...
20/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ OLYMPIC QUEEN TATJANA RETURNS AT SA SHORT COURSE CHAMPS ๐ŸŠโ€โ™€๏ธ

Tatjana Smith is back! South Africa's most decorated Olympian races the SA Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg from 24 to 27 September.

"Tatjana has nothing left to prove, and a swimmer with nothing to lose is the most dangerous thing in the water!" โ€“ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธJay

She's entered in all three breaststroke events, with World Short Course spots for Beijing on the line.

Everything about her return here:
https://justplainsport.com/swimming/tatjana-smith-comeback/

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ WILL CHESLIN REMAIN THE NUMBER ONE KICKING OPTION FOR RASSIE ERASMUS AND THE SPRINGBOKS when he returns to the side a...
19/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ WILL CHESLIN REMAIN THE NUMBER ONE KICKING OPTION FOR RASSIE ERASMUS AND THE SPRINGBOKS when he returns to the side after recovering from his injury?

It feels like Rassie has now officially given every player in the team the license to train goal kicking as hard as they can ๐Ÿ˜œ

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ KOBUS MARAIS LINES UP 100TH PRO GAME IN RUSSIA ๐Ÿ‰Kobus Marais is set for his 100th game for Russian champions Strela-A...
18/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ KOBUS MARAIS LINES UP 100TH PRO GAME IN RUSSIA ๐Ÿ‰

Kobus Marais is set for his 100th game for Russian champions Strela-Ak Bars this Sunday, the first match at Kazan's brand-new heated rugby ground ๐ŸŸ๏ธโ„๏ธ

A phone call from JP Nel, six winters in Tatarstan, 950-plus points and a 2025 treble that broke Siberia's grip on Russian rugby ๐Ÿ”ฅ

The full Kazan story here:
https://justplainsport.com/saffas-abroad/kobus-marais-strela-100th-game/

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ RUBEN KRUGER โ€” 36 CAPS, ONE WORLD CUP WINNER, AND A LEGACY OF GIVING ๐Ÿ‰Ruben Kruger would have turned 56 this year. Th...
18/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ RUBEN KRUGER โ€” 36 CAPS, ONE WORLD CUP WINNER, AND A LEGACY OF GIVING ๐Ÿ‰

Ruben Kruger would have turned 56 this year. The Silent Assassin won a World Cup for South Africa in 1995, then spent the next fifteen years proving character mattered more than the jersey

He skipped his own Invictus premiere to sit with a sick seven-year-old daughter instead. Years later, that same daughter gave a tennis opponent her spare shoes so the match would be fair.

His daughters Zoรซ and Isabella are both professional tennis players now โ€” Isabella reached the Wimbledon juniors quarter-final and plays NCAA tennis at Auburn, while Zoรซ is chasing her own career and studying genetics, inspired by the brain tumour that took their father in 2010.

โธป
๐Ÿ—ฃ "WOW, this man won a World Cup and then spent his last decade making sure his daughters knew character beats trophies every time โ€” the Silent Assassin's quietest legacy is the loudest one of all! What a Saffa Sport Legend!" โ€“ ๐ŸŽ™Jay
โธป

Read the full story of the World Cup, the fight, and the family he left behind here โฌ‡๏ธ
https://justplainsport.com/rugby/ruben-kruger-36-caps-world-cup-legacy/

๐ŸŽ‚ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVE RICHARDSON โ€” FROM PROTEAS WICKET KEEPER TO ICC CHIEF EXECUTIVE ๐ŸDave Richardson turned 67 yesterd...
17/09/2026

๐ŸŽ‚ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVE RICHARDSON โ€” FROM PROTEAS WICKET KEEPER TO ICC CHIEF EXECUTIVE ๐Ÿ

Dave Richardson turned 67 yesterday. He kept wicket in South Africa's first Test back from isolation, then held the gloves as first choice right through to 1997 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ

His only Test century โ€” 109 against New Zealand at Cape Town โ€” came in a series where he was named Man of the Series, reported at the time as the first wicketkeeper from outside England to win it.

He finished with 42 Tests and 152 dismissals, then went on to become the ICC's first general manager in 2002 and its chief executive from 2012 to 2019.

โธป
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ "WOW, fourteen years locked out of Test cricket, then he doesn't lose the gloves for six years straight! From behind the stumps to running world cricket itself โ€” He's one of the original Saffa Sport Legends!โ€ โ€“ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธJay
โธป

Relive the rain-rule heartbreak and the ICC years hereโฌ‡๏ธ
https://justplainsport.com/cricket/cricket-legend-dave-richardson/

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ VAN DEN BERG IS MAKING THE NUMBER NINE BOK JERSEY HIS OWN ๐Ÿ”ฅCongratulations to Mornรฉ van den Berg, named Man of the Ma...
16/09/2026

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ VAN DEN BERG IS MAKING THE NUMBER NINE BOK JERSEY HIS OWN ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Congratulations to Mornรฉ van den Berg, named Man of the Match as the Springboks beat New Zealand 43-28 in Baltimore to seal Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series 3-1 in front of a record 68,173 fans.

โธป
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ "From the first time I saw him play, I knew he was different. Baltimore proved it. He's the real deal! His competition will have to wake up extra early every day to keep him out of the Springbok No.9 jersey for the World Cup!" โ€“ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธJay
โธป

One start, one performance, one unforgettable night in America.

See the full story here:
https://justplainsport.com/rugby/morne-van-den-berg-man-of-the-match/

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