WATCH: Five great wins SA sports fans could cheer about this past weekend

Published Jun 13, 2022

Share

Cape Town - South African sports fans are probably still stumbling into work on this Monday morning after a sporting weekend for the ages.

It felt good to be South African again with our sporting heroes - both male and female - giving us plenty to cheer about all around the world.

It all started on Friday with the Bulls recording arguably one of the biggest upsets in rugby history by travelling to Ireland’s capital Dublin to defeat reigning European champions Leinster in the United Rugby Championship semi-final.

Nobody had given the Bulls a chance - besides IOL Sport rugby writers Ashfak Mohamed and Wynona Louw - to upset the juggernaut Leinster side. But that’s just what they did in an epic 27-26 victory.

This meant that if the Stormers could beat fellow Irish outfit Ulster at DHL Stadium on Saturday afternoon it would set up an all South African URC final.

John Dobson’s Stormers had everyone nervously chewing their fingernails as the tension increased with the home side still trailing Ulster by five points with time up on the stadium clock.

However, the 14-man Stormers showed great character to set up the brilliant Warrick Gelant for the game-equalling try after the full-time hooter had already gone. They still needed the conversion to progress and a hush fell over DHL Stadium as Manie Libbok, who had missed his previous two conversions, stepped up for the defining moment of his career.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man as Libbok sent Cape Town - if not the entire South Africa rugby fraternity - into a state of pure delirium as his conversion sailed through the upright.

While all this drama was transpiring, the Proteas Women’s team were inflicting more misery on the Irish with Shabnim Ismail running through the hosts’ batting line-up to set up a nine-wicket victory in the first ODI.

The weekend’s festivities were not over yet with Temba Bavuma and his Proteas’ Men’s team maintaining their T20I winning streak with another comprehensive four-wicket win over India in the second T20I in Cuttack.

Heinrick Klaasen was the hero as he struck a whirlwind 81 to take the Proteas home.

And finally, the action turned to London on Sunday evening where South Africa’s golfers were competing in the lucrative LIV Golf Championship.

Charl Schwartzel carded a final round of 72 at the Centurion Club outside London to finish seven under par and a shot clear of compatriot Hennie du Plessis.

@ZaahierAdams