South Africa

Kohli stars in India victory

After Sunday's opener in Dharamsala was washed out, the home team did well with the ball to restrict the Proteas to 149-5, Quinton de Kock top-scoring with 52.

Not for the first time in his career, Kohli timed the chase superbly, keeping the run-rate under control before accelerating late on to see his team cruise over the line in Mohali with six balls to spare.

Springboks want a strong effort from match officials

The Boks have previously felt they have not always got the rub of the green from the officials in clashes with the world champions, especially in areas such as the breakdown and scrum.

With only two points separating the sides on aggregate in their last four matches, it suggests fine margins could decide the Pool B opener.

"Hopefully the match officials will respect the game because if you look at the way things are between us and New Zealand, I think we're more balanced now," Stick said.

Springboks reduce potential World Cup squad

Erasmus has hinted his final 31-man selection for the tournament in Japan, which will be announced on August 26, will be drawn from the players in camp this week with the remainder on stand-by in case of injury.

The players released from the group that defeated Argentina 24-18 in a one-off test in Pretoria on Saturday are prop Wilco Louw, hooker Scarra Ntubeni, loose forward Marco van Staden and utility back Dillyn Leyds.

Springboks take fourth from England after All Blacks draw

They're up to fourth place, ahead of England by just three-hundredths of a point and they have Handre Pollard's injury-time conversion to thank for that.

The Springboks looked set to lose a topsy-turvy contest at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, before Herschel Jantjies' try gave the Boks the chance to level which they did. 

The result means the last four tests between the two nations have all been decided by two points or less.

The All Blacks remain atop the standings with Wales and Ireland also in the top four. There were no other changes inside the top 10. 

More than 700 tickets to All Blacks Test cancelled

Ticket seller Ticketek told New Zealand Rugby to void the tickets to the 27 July match at Westpac Stadium.

NZ Rugby chief commercial officer Richard Thomas said cancelling the tickets was a matter of taking a stand against fraud.

"Unfortunately, it is highly likely that some of these tickets will have already been on-sold to unknowing fans on the secondary market and those fans may only discover their tickets are invalid when they present them at the gate at Westpac Stadium.

South Africa through to Netball World Cup semifinals for first time since 1995

South Africa are through to the final four for the first time since 1995 after a strong final quarter got them home against a relatively competitive Uganda.

They join the Silver Ferns, Australia and hosts England as the four confirmed semifinalists.

South Africa v Uganda

Southern Steel star Lenize Potgieter continued her strong tournament by scoring a game-high 46 from 49 as South Africa beat Uganda 67-40 to advance through to the semifinals on Thursday (NZT).

Saving their best for last, South Africa won the final quarter 21-7.

Wallabies prop Tupou robbed near team hotel in Johannesburg

Tupou and the rest of the Wallabies front rowers were walking back to their hotel, the Sandton Sun, at approximately 9:15pm local after a dinner just across the road, when a man walked past and grabbed his phone before running towards a waiting vehicle.

After initially believing it to be one of his teammates, Tupou realised it was a stranger and pursued the man, sustaining some minor cuts to his arm attempting to grab the device out of the car.

Tupou said on Sunday evening (AEST) that he was feeling okay after the incident.

All Blacks pay tribute to dead South African rugby wing James Small

Small, who won the World Cup with South Africa in 1995 beating the All Blacks in a gripping final that went to extra time, was 50.

The South African Rugby Union said Small suffered a suspected heart attack late on Tuesday in Johannesburg.

"We are saddened to learn that Springboks great and 1995 Rugby World Cup winner James Small has passed away. A fierce competitor on the field and great friend off it, James will be missed by the entire global rugby community," the All Blacks tweeted.

South Africa World Cup hopes over

Pakistan may soon follow Sunday's opponents out of semi-final contention yet they eased to a 49-run victory, their 308-7 never under threat. South Africa finished on 259-9.

Defeats to England, Bangladesh, India and New Zealand put South Africa in a perilous position before this game. They have fixtures against Sri Lanka and Australia to come, but surely cannot get home soon enough now mathematical hopes of advancing from the group stage are over.

Rohit and India overcome Proteas

India, making their tournament bow, started slowly in a seemingly straightforward chase of 228 as Virat Kohli failed to fire, but Rohit moved through the gears to defeat a Proteas attack missing Lungi Ngidi and Dale Steyn.

It was a victory World Cup debutants Jasprit Bumrah (2-35) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4-51) deserved, too, after superb displays at the Rose Bowl restricted their opponents to 227-9.