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Liam Del Carme

Liam Del Carme has been a sports writer for more than 25 years. He specialises in rugby but also writes about cricket, tennis and golf for the Sunday Times.

Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and stand-in captain Jesse Kriel ahead of second Test against Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.

Stand-in Bok captain Kriel says they are desperate to right last week's wrongs against Australia

The need to right the ship and get their Rugby Championship campaign back on course has stirred the Springboks ahead of their clash against the Wallabies at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

  • Liam Del Carme
Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu before the second Test against Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.

Springboks out to keep Wallabies at bay in Cape Town

When Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu fronts the media, his attacking prowess is more often than not the topic of conversation.

  • Liam Del Carme
Jean-Luc du Preez has been given another Boks opportunity in the absence of Jasper Wiese and and Siya Kolisi.

Jean-Luc du Preez given another Springbok opportunity

Jasper Wiese's suspension and Siya Kolisi's injury have seen Jean-Luc du Preez brought in from the cold again.

  • Liam Del Carme
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus

Bok coach Erasmus sticks to his guns to try to snap Wallabies’ week of wonder

The true elasticity of the Springbok squad will be put to the test when they try to snap the Wallabies' week of wonder in Cape Town on Saturday.

  • Liam Del Carme
Bulls and Sharks during the Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on August 02, 2025.

'We are not going to feel sorry for ourselves' — Sharks skipper Nick Hatton after humiliation by the Bulls

After putting Western Province to the sword in Cape Town last week the Bulls were again in rampaging form, running in 10 tries to beat the Sharks 64-0 at Loftus Versfeld.

  • Liam Del Carme

Rassie unsure if Wallabies will arrive here down under

Springbok coach, however, taking nothing for granted ahead of two-Test series

  • Liam Del Carme
Morgan Naude of Lions and Sharks players during the Carling Currie Cup match at Emirates Airline Park on July 26, 2025 in Johannesburg.

Lions claw Sharks in Currie Cup opener

The Lions roared to a 46-5 victory over the Sharks to help numb some of the bitter taste lingering from their Currie Cup final defeat last year against the same opponents.

  • Liam Del Carme
Lubabalo Dobela is going to be key for the Lions during their Currie Cup clash against the Sharks.

Lions looking to set a marker for Currie Cup season when they take on the Sharks

In their Currie Cup opener at Ellis Park on Saturday, the Lions have the opportunity to exact revenge and set a marker against the team they lost to so dramatically in last year's final but flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela warned they cannot…

  • Liam Del Carme
Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi and players during a training session as they prepared for the Currie Cup clash against the Sharks.

Lions looking to avoid mistakes of the past in Currie Cup opener against Sharks

The last time there was a Zulu on the Lions' proverbial stoep, it ended up being a blockbusting horror for the home team.

  • Liam Del Carme
Springbok utility player Kwagga Smith.

Boks still get bang for their Bomb Squad: Kwagga

‘We know we weren’t at our best but it is something we want to correct’

  • Liam Del Carme
Loose forward Vincent Tshituka during a Springbok training session in Cape Town before Saturday’s match against the Barbarians. He will make his Test debut against Italy.

Vincent Tshituka finally cracks the Test nod

Having had two appetisers, Vincent Tshituka will get to tuck into the main meal of rugby when he makes his Test debut for the Springboks in Saturday's clash against Italy.

  • Liam Del Carme
Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa during the Qatar Airways Cup match between South Africa and Barbarians at Cape Town Stadium on June 28, 2025.

Kolbe shines through storm to power Boks to dominant win

Though clashes against the Barbarians are devoid of Test status the hunger to improve in the Springbok camp was perhaps best exemplified by wing Cheslin Kolbe in Saturday's 54-7 win at a rain-soaked Cape Town Stadium.

  • Liam Del Carme
Cobus Wiese of the Bulls attempts to charge down Luke McGrath of Leinster during the United Rugby Championship final match at Croke Park on June 14 2025 in Dublin, Ireland.

Bulls denied third-time luck as they fall to Leinster in URC final

The Bulls lost their third United Rugby Championship final 32-7 and will reflect on a match in which they barely fired a shot.

  • Liam Del Carme

Sharks suffer Eben Etzebeth blow for crunch Bulls URC clash

The Sharks will go into battle without their Springbok talisman Eben Etzebeth in their second row for Saturday's United Rugby Championship semifinal against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

  • Liam Del Carme
Sam Cane of the All Blacks is tackled by Boks captain Siya Kolisi during last year's Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town. The pair will meet again this weekend when Cane turns out for the Barbarians.

Former All Blacks captain Cane in Barbarians squad to take on Boks

The last time Sam Cane captained a team against the Springboks, he was left with bitter disappointment.

  • Liam Del Carme