 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The momentum of the Currie Cup – sponsored by DirectAxis Financial Services and Nashua – will change significantly on Saturday as the teams make the switch from qualifying mode to final mode as they take to the field in the Premier Division semi-finals.
The Cell C Sharks will host the Xerox Golden Lions in Durban at 14h30, while defending champions and log-leaders, DHL Western Province, will meet the Vodacom Blue Bulls in Cape Town at 17h00. All four teams will field 23-man squads, as opposed to applying rolling substitutions as in the pool stages.
A victory for DHL Western Province will guarantee them a home final at DHL Newlands on Saturday, 27 October, however, should they suffer a defeat, the winner of the Cell C Sharks and Xerox Golden Lions match will host the final.
At Jonsson Kings Park, the Cell C Sharks will be determined to build on their 37-21 victory against the Xerox Golden Lions in a repeat of this match in the pool stages, but they will be wary of underestimating the visitors.
The Durbanites have suffered only one defeat at home against their Gauteng rivals since 2008, and that was in 2015, which should bolster their confidence going into the match. Interestingly, the Xerox Golden Lions have scored 46 more points than the KwaZulu-Natalians in the pool stages, but they conceded 80 more.
The Xerox Golden Lions made only three changes to their team, with Pieter Jansen joining Springboks Warren Whiteley and Aphiwe Dyanti in their starting team.
After following a thorough tender process, the City of Cape Town has appointed a joint venture (JV) company to kick-start the process of securing a naming sponsor for the Cape Town Stadium, which will help to unlock the commercial potential of the facility. Read more below:
The Cape Town Stadium was placed under the management of a municipal entity which was established on 1 November 2017 to ensure greater commercial flexibility and utilises a management model that is similar to the Cape Town International Convention Centre. SMSA Commercial Consultants, a joint venture company encompassing SAIL, Stadium Management South Africa and S-Factor, was the successful bidder to kick-start the process to secure a naming sponsor.
‘Being able to secure a naming sponsor will be a key milestone and the next major step in managing Cape Town Stadium as a commercially driven entity. The aim is to generate revenue through commercialisation, to bid for and to attract national and international events to our world-class stadium. This will in turn hold benefits for the economy and job creation. The ultimate goal is to incrementally reduce our dependence on City funding,’ said Lesley de Reuck, CEO: Cape Town Stadium.
‘The iconic stadium is a multi-purpose venue set in an urban park with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain, one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Events such as the World Rugby Sevens, football (with a number of teams being hosted at the stadium), major music concerts, religious and sports events as well as exhibitions and festivals already form part of its calendar of events. The municipal entity of the stadium is developing its business model which incorporates tenants and commercial users, either of the entire stadium, or parts of its facilities and venues,’ added de Reuck.
Dr Jaques Grobbelaar, chairman of the JV, said the team is excited about the naming rights opportunities around the stadium, taking it to market and the potential of a brand being associated with the stadium.
IT IS GOING TO BE ONE MONSTER OF A PARTY AS TWO OF THE HOTTEST CLUBS IN CAPE TOWN COMBINE TO CO-HOST THE ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN PARTY TO BE AT THIS YEAR
Two of the hottest and most popular clubs in the Mother City, TAU and Crew Bar, will be combining forces to co-host the ultimate Halloween party to be at this year, taking place on Friday, 26 October. Tickets are on sale now at www.quicket.co.za.
And the highlight of the evening at the MCQP: Presents Halloween event? The announcement of the official theme of the end-of-year MCQP party (taking place on Saturday, 15 December) at the ghoulish Pumpkin Hour.
“Want to know what rises from the grave over Halloween?” enthuses MCQP director, Ian McMahon. “Ghosts, goblins, monsters, zombies and all things creepy and scary will be summoned to our playground, with grisly rooms and floors only the bravest will dare explore.”
With MCQP owning one of the largest collection of Halloween decorations, McMahon says that TAU and Crew Bar will be completely transformed and almost unrecognisable with amazing decor, outstanding costumes, a dungeon or rooms leading into one more scary than the other, and even some free lessons in casting spells and flying brooms.
Candice Heyns, MCQP’s Project Manager, adds: “With TAU and Crew Bar co-hosting the events, those attending can be prepared to be blown away with 3 floor levels, a total of 7 bars, a basement dungeon room full of frightfully naughties and oh, so much more! Capetownians – prepare for the biggest Halloween party of the year at two of your favourite venues!”
The Border Rugby Union (BRU) has been suspended from membership of SA Rugby as a consequence of its dire financial position and on-going administration issues.
The decision was taken by the Executive Council (Exco) of SA Rugby at a meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday. It allows SA Rugby to appoint an administrator to take full control of the union’s affairs.
The Exco exercised its constitutionally mandated powers relating to the financial affairs of unions.
Border first invited SA Rugby to assist in 2014, when an administrator was appointed to take limited financial oversight. The administrator’s role was reduced as the union’s affairs were regularised. However, in light of escalating issues the Exco applied the full extent of its constitutional powers.
“This intervention is for the benefit of rugby in the Border region and has only been taken as a last resort,” said Mr. Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby.
“The union has critical financial problems and repeated attempts to engage with the union’s leadership on a turnaround strategy have met with no success.
“Other members with similar challenges have engaged with us but Border have repeatedly missed scheduled engagements both with the SA Rugby Executive Council and Finance Committee. We were left with no alternative.”
I strongly condemn the spate of child rape and abuse in Cape Town and the Western Cape.
In the past couple of weeks we have seen horrendous cases of child abuse and rape circulate in the media. These include the rape of a 9 year old girl by a 17 year old boy in Blikkiesdorp; a child rape game reported in the Daily Voice called ‘treintjie’ targeting young boys; and the rape and murder of 4-year-old Iyapha Yamile from Khayelitsha.
I commend the South African Police Services (SAPS) for the arrests they have made thus far, and call on communities to support them to build solid cases and bring the perpetrators of these crimes to book.
Any families whose children have been sexually abused or raped must immediately report such incidences to the police. The police will then report the matter to the Department of Social Development, after which we will deploy our social workers. Family members and victims of abuse can also call the DSD Hotline on 0800 220 250 for support.
Child abuse and rape has no place in our society. I call on all men, women and children to stand up and make their voices heard, if you see something, say something! We must work better together if we are to end these cruel and barbaric acts against children.
We all have a role to play as government, civil society, religious leaders, and families. I call on parents and communities to be extra vigilant especially of children who will shortly be enjoying their December holidays.
South Africa faces a significant challenge in tackling youth unemployment. Of the 1.1 million youth who enter the labour market each year, only 14% find themselves in any form of employment (formal or informal) within their first year. But today those odds were dramatically improved thanks to a collaborative partnership between the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP) and Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.
Two of the biggest problems our youth face today is unequal access to employment opportunity and the lack of emphasis on education. Indeed, when one considers how many youth sit at home unemployed when there are job vacancies that go unfilled by South African companies, it is clear that the “demand supply mismatch” must be solved in the youth labour market.
This is the challenge being addressed by both ISFAP and Harambee.
ISFAP has done this by addressing the funding demands of students from poor and “missing middle” households who are studying towards entering professions of high demand and scarce-skills professions. Harambee works to pathway, match and ready young people to secure jobs by breaking down the barriers that stand between high-potential young people and employment.
While each organisation has made strides to change the narrative, the innovative partnership between these institutions will accelerate the transition from “learning to earning” by scaling both organisations’ solutions to this crisis.
Backline stars Damian de Allende and Sergeal Petersen both claimed two awards at the 2018 WPRFU Awards evening, held at the Cape Sun on Tuesday evening.
Petersen was rewarded for his scintillating form as top try-scorer in the Currie Cup this season with the DHL WP Most Promising Player award and the coveted DHL Players’ Player Award, while De Allende claimed the DHL Best Back and adidas MVP Award.
Forwards Steven Kitshoff (DHL Best Forward) Pieter-Steph du Toit (Brightrock Bounce Player of the Year) and Ernst van Rhyn (DHL WP Most Promising Forward) were also recognised, along with DHL Stormers captain Siya Kolisi, who claimed the LFP Award for Leadership, Focus and Passion.
In the DHL Western Province U19 team that will face Cell C Sharks in their semifinal in Durban this weekend, fullback Quan Eyman was named DHL WP U19 Most Promising Player, scrumhalf Lucky Dlepu the DHL WP U19 Best Back, prop Dian Bleuler the DHL WP U19 Best Forward and lock Ian Kitwanga claimed the Brightrock U19 Bounce Player of the Year award.
In the DHL Western Province U21 side that will host Vodacom Blue Bulls U21 in their semifinal at DHL Newlands on Saturday, lock David Meihuizen was DHL WP U21 Most Promising Player, scrumhalf Jondre Williams the DHL WP U21 Best Back, prop Kwenzo Blose the DHL WP U21 Best Forward and skipper Nama Xaba was the Brightrock U21 Bounce Player of the Year.
Top local musician, Louise Carver, is back in Cape Town on a special Remedy Tour celebrating life and the pure joy of connecting with her fans. She’ll be performing all her most popular hits, as well as some new songs at the Roxy Revue Bar, GrandWest on Saturday, 20 October 2018.
The Remedy tour started in Mozambique and has travelled to some of Louise’s favourite places including White River, Johannesburg (her adopted home) and Pretoria. Now it is coming to Cape Town, her real home. Louise will be accompanied on stage by her incredible guitarist Gideon Botes, as well as David Klassen on percussion.
Her fans will recognise her sultry music voice that has propelled her to the top of music charts here and in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia and even onto the American Billboard charts.
“We’re looking forward to hearing her familiar hits,” says Elouise Matthys, the PR and Promotions Manager at GrandWest. “She is also going to do a few classic covers in her uniquely Carver way. Louise is a talented, local musician who puts on a fantastic show, we are delighted to host her.”
Tickets are available online from www.quicket.co.za at R195 per person.
In today’s Cultural Affairs and Sports committee, it was revealed that they have invested R171.264 million in upgrading and building of new library facilities to improve community library services, particularly in rural areas. The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sports (DCAS) presented their 2017/2018 Annual Report to the relevant standing committee.
The department also revealed that more than half of all low fee and no fee schools benefit from the After School Game Changer programme and that all new libraries built during the year under review have been in rural areas across the Western Cape. The After School Game changer reaped positive rewards after recording an impressive participation of over 72 043 learners, an 85% target success rate.
In supporting the programme, the department allocated R52.707 million for the Mass Participation and Sports Development Grant. Furthermore, in a recent survey, 82% of learners participating in the programme, indicated feeling safe or as safer than they would at home in the After School environment.
