Dobbo upbeat despite Kolbe blow

John Dobson rues the loss of Springbok star Cheslin Kolbe for the Stormers’ start to next season as the Cape club survived Friday’s pre-season result in Paarl unscathed.

Kolbe has been ruled out for eight weeks with a broken jaw suffered against the All Blacks last week, meaning he will miss the Stormers’ opening four matches of the 2026-27 URC.

The Stormers begin in Galway against Connacht on 25 September, then travel to Edinburgh six days later. milkshakeslot.com

Speaking after Friday’s 38-26 defeat by the Bulls at Faure Street Stadium, Dobson confirmed front-line Boks, including Damian Willemse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Wilco Louw and Siya Kolisi, should be available for the Sharks clash on 10 October.

ICYMI: Kolbe shares injury update

“He’s [Kolbe] out for eight weeks. He would have played that whole October run, the four games. That was a hell of a blow,” the director of rugby said.

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“When we get back from the tour, they’re [Boks] all available. Well, they’re available theoretically for the Edinburgh game, but you’re not going to fly guys out, after what they’ve been through.

“They’re all available for the Sharks.”

Dobson confirmed there will be no second warm-up before the Stormers head to Ireland, adding: “Can’t risk it in case we get an injury. We’re just too thin.

“The locks are a concern. The back three is a concern depth-wise until the Springboks come back.”

MORE: Bulls claim bragging rights in Paarl

The Stormers went into Friday’s match without several players Dobson considered important to their opening URC assignment.

“I’m super happy, given the amount of guys that we optionally pulled out of this game – 17 out of that 31 have never played a URC game.

“At the start of the second half, we were outstanding. But I knew by the end, once we’d mixed up the pack, we’d lose shape towards the end.

“I’m happy with where we are and no injuries. That’s the best thing about the game.”

The Stormers’ approach was more expansive than the one they will take to Connacht, according to Dobson.

“We’re not going to play like this against Connacht. We were pulling everything, tipping every ball. It’s going to be more direct,” he said.

“We wanted to put ourselves under pressure with our skills that we’ve been training in the pre-season. But we learned from the All Blacks experience – we can turn up and get organised.

ALSO: Kolbe key to unlocking ‘Stormers of old’

“What we can’t replace is if JD [Schickerling] and Adré [Smith] are out, or if Warrick [Gelant]’s out, or Seabelo [Senatla]’s out at the moment.

“We’re just going to have to coach around that.”

Dobson, though, was satisfied that the Stormers remained in with a chance in Paarl despite the number of players held back.

“I thought there was a chance given the lineups and the guys we realised we couldn’t be without for Connacht … It could have gotten away from us.

“That we stayed competitive and didn’t get an injury makes it a really good outcome for us. I think it was a nice experience.”

ALSO: Injury mars Sharks win

Photo: Cole Cruickshank/Gallo Images

The post Dobbo upbeat despite Kolbe blow appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Hamza Abdelkarim poursuit son aventure au FC Barcelone. Désormais intégré à la dynamique de l’équipe première du Barça, l’attaquant égyptien de 18 ans va prolonger son contrat avec le club catalan jusqu’en 2030.

Arrivé chez les Catalans l’hiver dernier, le jeune avant-centre égyptien s’est rapidement distingué avec les catégories inférieures des Blaugranas. En neuf apparitions en championnat avec les U19, il a inscrit six buts. Ses bonnes performances lui ont également valu une convocation et une participation à la dernière Coupe du monde.

Meilleur buteur de la préparation du Barça, Hamza Abdelkarim a ainsi vu le club catalan lui renouveler sa confiance avec une prolongation de contrat.

Dans un communiqué, le club pensionnaire de la Liga espagnole a officialisé la prolongation du contrat de l’international égyptien jusqu’en 2030.

« Le FC Barcelone et le joueur Hamza Abdelkarim ont trouvé un accord pour la prolongation du contrat du footballeur égyptien jusqu’au 30 juin 2030. »

Hamza Abdelkarim, qui a fait ses débuts officiels avec le FC Barcelone le 31 août dernier, lors du match de Liga contre le Rayo Vallecano au Spotify Camp Nou (5-2), va désormais côtoyer des joueurs comme Raphinha, Rodri ou encore Lamine Yamal.

À leurs côtés, il pourra acquérir de l’expérience sous la direction de son entraîneur Hansi Flick, réputé pour sa gestion des jeunes talents.

A. Diouma Bah

The post FC Barcelone : l’international égyptien Hamza Abdelkarim prolonge son contrat appeared first on AFRICASPORT.ORG.

Chelsea a officialisé ce vendredi 11 septembre 2026 la prolongation de contrat de Pedro Neto. Arrivé à Londres en 2024, l’attaquant portugais est désormais lié aux Blues jusqu’en 2032.

Pedro Neto s’inscrit dans la durée

L’aventure se poursuit pour Pedro Neto à Chelsea. Recruté en août 2024, l’international portugais s’est progressivement imposé dans le groupe londonien et vient de prolonger son engagement avec le club.

Depuis son arrivée, l’attaquant a disputé 108 rencontres sous le maillot des Blues, pour 21 buts et 19 passes décisives. Cette saison, il a déjà trouvé le chemin des filets à deux reprises, contre Brighton en Premier League le 30 août, puis face à Leeds en EFL Cup.

Avant de rejoindre Chelsea, Pedro Neto avait évolué plusieurs saisons à Wolverhampton. Sous les couleurs des Wolves, il avait disputé 135 matches, inscrit 14 buts et délivré 27 passes décisives.

« Je veux vivre encore plus de ces moments »

Après l’annonce de sa prolongation, Pedro Neto a affiché sa satisfaction et souligné l’importance de Chelsea dans son parcours depuis son arrivée.

« C’est un moment incroyable. Depuis mon arrivée, j’ai toujours eu le sentiment que les gens ici m’ont beaucoup aidé. Je me sens comme chez moi et j’ai envie de réaliser encore plus de choses ici. J’ai vécu de très bons moments, aussi bien collectivement qu’individuellement, et maintenant je veux en vivre encore davantage. Je suis vraiment enthousiaste, car je pense que nous pouvons accomplir beaucoup de choses ensemble », a déclaré le Portugais.

Désormais engagé jusqu’en 2032, Pedro Neto dispose d’un horizon à long terme pour poursuivre son développement et participer aux ambitions de Chelsea.

The post Chelsea : Pedro Neto prolonge jusqu’en 2032 appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says the Springboks have also been guilty of the gamesmanship for which Cam Roigard has been criticised.

Roigard came under fire following an incident in the second half of New Zealand’s 29-24 defeat at FNB Stadium last Saturday, when he remained on the ground holding his head after a clash with Cobus Reinach.

The flashpoint occurred after the Boks had been awarded a penalty try from a dominant scrum. Roigard held onto Reinach after the whistle and the Bok scrumhalf responded by flipping his opposite number backwards onto the turf.

Replays showed Roigard’s head did not make contact with the ground, but referee Nika Amashukeli reviewed the incident with his fellow officials and penalised Reinach, allowing New Zealand to restart from halfway.

MORE: Former Boks rip into Roigard for faking it

Former Bok captain Jean de Villiers subsequently accused Roigard of “taking a dive”, while former England scrumhalf Ben Youngs was also critical of the All Blacks No 9.

Speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast, Hansen conceded that Roigard should not have reacted as he did, but argued that such gamesmanship was not unique to New Zealand.

“You don’t want it so he probably shouldn’t do it,” Hansen said. “There are people diving all the time. The way the rules are with head knocks, you’ve only got to go back to the last World Cup and the Sam Cane incident.”

WATCH: ‘You’re better than that’

Hansen was referring to the 2023 World Cup final in Paris, when All Blacks captain Cane was sent off following a high tackle on Bok centre Jesse Kriel.

The former All Blacks coach suggested Kriel had drawn attention to the contact in an attempt to influence the officials.

“Kriel was OK and then all of a sudden he’s holding his head. It’s how you play the ref to get his attention and it’s in our game.

“Do we want it in our game? No we don’t and no team is innocent.”

The post Hansen: Kriel contributed to Cane red card appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Le club saoudien d’Al-Ula FC a officialisé ce jeudi la fin de sa collaboration avec la Lionne Indomptable Bella Rose. Cette séparation intervient dans un contexte médiatique qui a retourné la population camerounaise. Aucune raison officielle n’a été communiquée par l’une ou l’autre des parties. Mais il ne fait aucun doute que cela est dû […]

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