Springboks hold All Blacks, Pirates claim bragging rights in Soweto Derby

[Because Mondays are for sports, not work.]( [Web Version]( Monday, 29 July 2019 "Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts." Dan Gable, American Wrestler 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.]( [Springboks slowly taking shape for Rugby World Cup, Orlando Pirates claim bragging rights in Soweto Derby.]( In what was billed as a litmus test for where the South Africa is as the Rugby World Cup draws ever so close, the Springboks held their nerve to clinch a 16-16 draw at the death against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium in Wellington in their second [Rugby Championship]( tie. A man who is putting his hand up sky-high for inclusion in the world cup is Herschel Jantjies. The scrumhalf once again stole the show, as he came off the bench to once again score a last gasp try, to add to the two that he scored against Australia last week. However, Handre Pollard still had to hold his nerve to put away the conversion in what was the literally the last kick of the game. “Right at the end we could have lost it and we managed to draw the game, and Handré could have missed that last kick so we could have lost that game. To come away with a draw, I guess we’re satisfied with that. The first 35 minutes we played very well while they totally dominated the second half. So fairly lucky, in a big way,” said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus after the game. More importantly, though, the Springboks have gone two games without defeat in New Zealand. That'll give them a major boost of confidence going into the world cup. The draw also means South Africa remains at the summit of Rugby Championship log. Continuing with rugby action, the Toyota Cheetahs showed off their attacking skills in the Currie Cup as they powered their way to the top of the standings thanks to a 10-try, 68-14 romp against Tafel Lager Griquas in a gripping third round this weekend. The Free Staters’ victory, which came courtesy of braces by Joseph Dweba, William Small-Smith and Dries Swanepoel, marked their second bonus-point win in as many weeks, and it ensured that they remained one of only two unbeaten teams. The other unbeaten outfit is the Xerox Golden Lions, who pipped DHL Western Province 30-28 in an epic clash in Cape Town on Saturday. The Lions ground out their second win with a penalty goal and vital try late in the match while opponents DHL Western Province were down to 14 men, earning them a narrow victory. In Friday’s game, the Vodacom Blue Bulls earned their first win as they held their nerve in a tight tussle against the Phakisa Pumas in Nelspruit for a 25-17 win. It was a game fueled by desperation as both sides gave everything in the hope of earning a victory to stay alive in the competition. A hat-trick by winger Rosko Specman ensured that the Bulls were the victors, as they picked up to their first win. One of the biggest football spectacles on the African continent took place centre stage as once more, this as bitter rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs locked horns in front of a filled-to-capacity FNB Stadium. The Buccaneers clinched a 2-0 victory to secure their fifth Carling Black Label title, and remain unbeaten in four on trot versus their rivals. The [goal]( by reigning Premier Soccer League Player of the Season, Thembinkosi Lorch will no doubt be spoken about for weeks to come. At the FINA World Championships South Africa finally made a splash at the business end of the spectacle after two weeks of not having registered a single medal on the board in Gwangju. They finished the tournament with four medals. Chad le Clos got the ball rolling as he clinched bronze in the 200m butterfly. It was a bittersweet victory for the defending world champion as the third-place finish, which came in 1.54.15, meant despite securing his country's first medal he lost his world title. Hungarian teenager Kristoff Milak, who shattered the world record held by American legend Michael Phelps was the man who dethroned le Clos, touching the wall in the remarkable time of 1:50.73. On Saturday, le Clos added another bronze, this time in the 100m butterfly. The 27-year-old finished third in 51.16 seconds, behind America’s new world record holder Caeleb Dressel, who took gold by swimming the second-fastest time in history (49.66), and Russian Andrei Minakov (50.83). On Friday, Tatjana Schoenmaker became the first South African woman to earn a World Championships medal in the long-course format. The 22-year-old swimmer, who had set an African record of 2:21.79 in the semifinals the day before secured a silver medal in 2:22.52, this in the 200m breaststroke. However, the best was yet to come. Zane Waddle, competing in his maiden FINA World Championships caused a massive upset in the men's 50m backstroke final. The 21-year-old touched the wall in 24.43 seconds, ahead Russians Evgeny Rylov (24.49) and world-record holder Kliment Kolesnikov (24.51) to secure South Africa's first gold medal of the aquatic showpiece. In tennis South Africa’s Lucas Sithole and his teenage partner Niels Vink of the Netherlands defeated second seeds Kyu-Seung Kim of South Korea and Japanese Koji Sugeno to clinch the British Open quads doubles title. The Dutch/South African pair clinched the title at 6-1,6-4. Water Cooler Talking Points Need a quick sports talking point to impress your co-workers? We've got you covered. The biggest talking point from the weekend has to be the German Grand Pix of Formula 1. The race, which took place at a rain-drenched Hockenheimring race track, had crashes and splashes as Red Bull's Max Verstappen dashed to the finish line to claim maximum points for the second time this season. However, despite Verstappen's brilliant win - his second of the season, it was Ferrari's Sebastien Vettel that stole the show. Having started the race in 20th, the German veered past his opponents to storm to a second-placed finish. Daniil Kvyat claimed Toro Rosso's second-ever F1 podium by finishing third. This race will no doubt go down as one of the best in F1 history. In golf news, world number one [Brooks Koepka]( secured his first career WGC title on Sunday at the St Jude Invitational. The American outclassed third-ranked Rory McIlroy in a last-duo duel of four-time major champions, their first ever pairing in a final round, for the victory at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. He fired a bogey-free five-under par 65 to finish on 16-under 264 after 72 holes and defeated compatriot Webb Simpson by three strokes. At the Senior Open South Africa's Retief Goosen closed with a 66 to tie for third with American Tim Petrovic (68) with a 3-under 277. Germany's Bernhard Langer was victorious, edging Paul Broadhurst by two shots to win the Senior British Open on Sunday for his record-extending 11th senior major title and 40th win on PGA TOUR Champions. In women's cricket, it was a record filled innings between Australia and England as the Australian pair of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry set some impressive records in the first T20 match of the multi-format Ashes tournament. The English lost by 97 runs, their heaviest defeat in the format ever. The victory saw Australia take an unssailable 10-2 lead in the series. Lanning, the Australian captain produced a blistering knock of 133* in the first of the three T20s played in Chelmsford – the highest individual score in Women's T20 cricket – bettering the previous best of 126, which she had jointly held with the Netherlands' Sterre Kallis. Meanwhile, Perry became the first cricketer, male or female, to have scored 1,000 T20 runs and taken 100 T20 wickets. The gruelling Tour de France finally came to an end with 22-year-old Egan Bernal of Team INEOS winnning the 2019 edition of the tournament. Peter Sagan continued his remarkable run at the Tour de France as he claimed his seventh Green Jersey in 8 years. Frenchman Romain Bardet took home the Polka Dot Jersey after he showed consistency throughout the mountain stages of the tournament. In boxing South Africa's Ludumo Lamati won the vacant IBF Intercontinental junior-featherweight title after Richie Mepranum of the Philippines called quits in the tenth round in their fight which took place in East London. And to wrap up, imagine yourself in this [stadium]( as an 83 000 strong crowd in a Malaysian football game does their own version of the Viking Clap. [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 3 July 2019, and combines Fiction and Non-fiction best sellers. In Play By EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT Members of team China perform during the Artistic Swimming Team Free Final at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, 19 July 2019. Coming Up This Week Select PSL Fixtures: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Supersport (Saturday 3 August, 15:00 SAST) Orlando Pirates vs Bloemfontein Celtic (Saturday 3 August, 18:00 SAST) Highlands Park vs Kaizer Chiefs (Sunday 4 August, 15:00 SAST) For full fixtures click [here]( Want more from us? Follow us on Twitter [@ArakibaArts]( and [@TheJonahDylan]( In Numbers 338 The number of One Day International wickets recently retired Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga took in his career. He sits ninth in the all-time leading ODI wicket-takers. On Daily Maverick Right Now [Rassie Erasmus has golden chance to tackle transformation]( [Rassie Erasmus has golden chance to tackle transformation]( By Leonard Solms [Lessons we learned from the Boks’ ‘lucky’ draw]( [Lessons we learned from the Boks’ ‘lucky’ draw]( By Antoinette Muller [Rugby Championship 2019: Australia vs Argentina – as it happened]( [Rugby Championship 2019: Australia vs Argentina – as it happened]( By Max Benson [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? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](