Weekend Sports Results — July 23, 2012

Rugby Motorsport  Golf  Cycling  Grand Prix Cricket Football

What an incredible weekend of sport! It was a record breaking weekend in so many respects – but it was a very special weekend for South African sport.

Weekend Sport’s Results:

Rugby:

Super Rugby Quarter Finals:
Crusaders 28 – 13 Vodacom Bulls
Reds 17 – 30 Sharks

Semi finals:
Friday 27 July: Chiefs vs Crusaders Waikato Stadium, Hamilton 09h35
Saturday 28 July DHL Stormers vs Sharks DHL Newlands Stadium 17h05

Currie Cup 1st Division:
Ford Pumas 36 – 35 Valke
Leopards 68 – 35 SWD Eagles
Eastern Province Kings 56 – 5 Border Bulldogs
Regent Boland Kavaliers 20 – 23 Griffons

Absa Currie Cup First Division Log – After Round 4:
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BPts Pts
1 Eastern Province Kings 4 4 0 0 156 60 96 19 8 3 19
2 Griffons 4 4 0 0 130 91 39 16 13 3 19
3 Leopards 4 3 0 1 143 120 23 19 14 2 14
4 Ford Pumas 4 2 0 2 108 99 9 13 12 3 11
5 SWD Eagles 4 2 0 2 118 130 -12 14 15 2 10
6 Valke 4 1 0 3 115 121 -6 17 14 4 8
7 Regent Boland Kavaliers 4 0 0 4 71 104 -33 9 14 3 3
8 Border Bulldogs 4 0 0 4 48 164 -116 6 23 1 1

Motorsport:

World Superbike Championship:
Marco Melandri won both races of the Brno leg in the Czech Republic on Sunday. Melandri closed the gap behind Max Biaggi, who is at the top of the Riders Championship standings, to just 21 points with five rounds of the 2012 Championship remaining.

Race One Result:
1. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 41’59.808
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 42’01.168
3. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) 42’01.756
4. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 42’02.302
5. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) 42’03.640
6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) 42’06.947
7. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 42’11.101
8. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) 42’11.753
9. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) 42’18.796
10. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) 42’18.925

Race One Result:
1. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.140
3. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) +6.801
4. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) +9.840
5. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) +11.775
6. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) +11.950
7. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) +12.547
8. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) +13.088
9. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) +18.141
10. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) +25.332

Riders Standings after Round 8 of the Championship:
Position: Rider: Team: Points:
1 Max Biaggi Aprilia 271,5
2 Marco Melandri BMW 250,5
3 Tom Sykes Kawasaki 212,5
4 Carlos Checa Ducati 204,5
5 Jonathan Rea Honda 187
6 Leon Haslam BMW 160
7 Eugene Laverty Aprilia 148
8 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati 110
9 Davide Giugliano Ducati 99
10 Chaz Davies Aprilia 93
11 Michel Fabrizio BMW 87
12 Jakub Smrz Ducati 84,5
13 Leon Camier Suzuki 65,5
14 Ayrton Badovini BMW 57
15 Maxime Berger Ducati 56,5

Golf:

British Open
South Africa’s Ernie Els’s 10 year wait for another major Trophy is finally over after he won the British Open by one stroke from Adam Scott (Australia) in rather dramatic circumstances yesterday. World No 13 Scott, seeking his first major victory, rather incredibly bogeyed the last four holes which allowed the Big Easy to close out the 18th with a birdie and lift the coveted Claret Jug.

This is Ernie Els’s 4th major championship victory, having won the US Open in 1994 and 1997 and the British Open in 2002.

“I feel a little numb at the moment; I feel for Adam, he’s a good friend of mine. I was just hoping at best to get into a playoff when I was on 17, then I birdied the 18th and then heard what happened to Adam.” the 42-year-old Els told the BBC in an interview.

Final scores:
273 Ernie Els (South Africa) 67 70 68 68

274 Adam Scott (Australia) 64 67 68 75

277 Tiger Woods (USA) 67 67 70 73
Brandt Snedeker (USA) 66 64 73 74

278 Luke Donald (Britain) 70 68 71 69
Graeme McDowell (Britain) 67 69 67 75

279 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 65 77 72 65
Thomas Aiken (South Africa) 68 68 71 72

280 Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 72 68 73 67
Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 71 69 73 67
Ian Poulter (Britain) 71 69 73 67
Alexander Noren (Sweden) 71 71 69 69
Vijay Singh (Fiji) 70 72 68 70
Dustin Johnson (USA) 73 68 68 71
Matt Kuchar (USA) 69 67 72 72
Mark Calcavecchia (USA) 71 68 69 72
Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 69 66 71 74
Zach Johnson (USA) 65 74 66 75

281 Hunter Mahan (USA) 70 71 70 70
Steven Alker (New Zealand) 69 69 72 71
Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 72 68 68 73
Bill Haas (US) 71 68 68 74

Other South Africans competing in the British Open:
285 Richard Sterne (South Africa) 69 73 73 70

289 Retief Goosen (South Africa) 70 70 75 74
Garth Mulroy (South Africa) 71 69 72 77

292 Branden Grace (South Africa) 73 69 71 79

Cycling:

Wiggins wins the Tour de France:
Bradley Wiggins became the first British winner of the Tour de France yesterday and finally achieved his childhood dream of winning the world’s most famous bicycle race.

Results:
1. Mark Cavendish (Britain / Team Sky) 3:08:07″
2. Peter Sagan (Slovakia / Liquigas) ST
3. Matthew Goss (Australia / Orica)
4. Juan Jose Haedo (Argentina / Saxo Bank)
5. Kris Boeckmans (Belgium / Vacansoleil)
6. Greg Henderson (New Zealand / Lotto)
7. Borut Bozic (Slovenia / Astana)
8. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto)
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Team Sky)
10. Jimmy Engoulvent (France / Saur – Sojasun)
11. Tyler Farrar (US / Garmin)
12. Koen de Kort (Netherlands / Argos)
13. Luca Paolini (Italy / Katusha)
14. Yohann Gene (France / Europcar)
15. Sebastien Hinault (France / AG2R)
16. Ruben Perez (Spain / Euskaltel) +4″
17. Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia / Astana)
18. Marco Marcato (Italy / Vacansoleil)
19. Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan / Astana)
20. Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis le credit en ligne)
58. Christopher Froome (Britain / SKY Procycling)
90 . Daryl impey (South Africa / Orica)

Final Overall Standings:
1. Bradley Wiggins (Britain / Team Sky) 87:34:47″
2. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) +3:21″
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy / Liquigas) +6:19″
4. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Belgium / Lotto) +10:15″
5. Tejay Van Garderen (U.S. / BMC Racing) +11:04″
6. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain / RadioShack) +15:41″
7. Cadel Evans (Australia / BMC Racing) +15:49″
8. Pierre Rolland (France / Europcar) +16:26″
9. Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia / Astana) +16:33″
10. Thibaut Pinot (France / FDJ) +17:17″
11. Andreas Kloeden (Germany / RadioShack) +17:54″
12. Nicolas Roche (Ireland / AG2R) +19:33″
13. Chris Horner (U.S. / RadioShack) +19:55″
14. Chris Sorensen (Denmark / Saxo Bank) +25:27″
15. Denis Menchov (Russia / Katusha) +27:22″
16. Maxime Monfort (Belgium / RadioShack) +28:30″
17. Egoi Martinez (Spain / Euskaltel) +31:46″
18. Rui Costa (Portugal / Movistar) +37:03″
19. Eduard Vorganov (Russia / Katusha) +38:16″
20. Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Movistar) +42:26″
111. Daryl Impey (South Africa / Orica) +2:57:29″

Formula 1: German Grand Prix:

Fernando Alonso (Spain) increased his lead in this year’s Formula One drivers’ world championship on Sunday when he drove his Ferrari across the finishing line first and won the German Grand Prix.

Results:
1. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1hr 31min 05.862sec (average: 201.844 km/h)
2. Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren Mercedes) at 6.949sec
3. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus) 16.409
4. Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber) 21.925
5. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull Racing) 23.732
6. Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber) 27.896
7. Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes AMG) 28.970
8. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull Racing) 46.941
9. Nico Huelkenberg (GER/Force India) 48.162
10. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 48.889
11. Paul di Resta (GBR/Force India) 59.227
12. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1:11.428
13. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso) 1:16.829
14. Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso) 1:16.965
15. Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams) at 1 lap
16. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham) 1
17. Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams) 1
18. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus) 1
19. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham) 2 laps
20. Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia) 2
21. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/HRT) 3
22. Timo Glock (GER/Marussia) 3
23. Narain Karthikeyan (IND/HRT) 3
Retired: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren Mercedes): mechanical problem 57th lap

Pos Driver Team Total
1 Alonso, F Ferrari 154
2 Webber, M Red Bull 120
3 Vettel, S Red Bull 110
4 Raikkonen, K Lotus 98
5 Hamilton, L McLaren 92
6 Rosberg, N Mercedes 76
7 Button, J McLaren 68
8 Grosjean, R Lotus 61
9 Perez, S Sauber 47
10 Kobayashi, K Sauber 33
11= Maldonado, P Williams 29
11= Schumacher, M Mercedes 29
13 di Resta, P Force India 27
14 Massa, F Ferrari 23
15 Hulkenberg, N Force India 19
16 Senna, B Williams 18
17 Vergne, JE Torro Rosso 4
18 Ricciardo, D Torro Rosso 2

Cricket

England v South Africa, 1st Investec Test, The Oval, 4th day
England 385 and 102 for 4 (Bell 14*, Bopara 15*) trail South Africa 637 for 2 declared (Amla 311*, Kallis 182*) by 150 runs.

What an incredible day for the South African Proteas. They enjoyed a day that teams dream of… a day where they piled on the runs, declared and then had the opposing team struggling and stuttering along for survival. At the close of play on the 4th day England were staggering on 102 for 4, still 150 runs behind the Proteas total.
The day, however, belonged to Hashim Amla who became South Africa’s highest individual innings scoring batsman after overtaking AB de Villiers’ record of 278 and then went on and scored South Africa’s first triple century in Test matches. Congratulations Hashim!
Day 5 will see England batting to salvage a draw, Graeme Smith has been setting very aggressive fields and the pressure will be on the English batsmen. The contest is not over and it promises to be an enthralling day. I think Imran Tahir could be instrumental in South Africa’s push for victory. It is all set for an enthralling and interesting day.

Football:

Ajax Cape Town hold the Red Devils to a draw
“It wasn’t a pretty game in the most part, but the final 5 minutes were sensational. Ajax Cape Town looked on course for the win, but another late equaliser for United saves them again.” – Yahoo Eurosport UK

Ajax Cape Town played out to a thrilling 1-1 draw with Manchester United at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

The game was stuttering along until substitute Alcardo van Graan scored an 86th minute goal with a flick-on from a corner and suddenly the game burst to life. The lead lasted just 5 minutes as Bebe scored in injury time.

While this is a fantastic result for the South African side, it is nothing to worry about for Manchester United.

Kaizer Chiefs crowned Gauteng Cup champions
The Amakhosi were crowned champions of the inaugural Gauteng Cup after beating Wits 8-7 on penalties in the final on Saturday night.

After regulation playing time the scores were even at 0-0. As a winner had to be crowned a penalty shootout proceeded and both teams scored 7 straight spot kicks. Unfortunately for Wits, Derick Spencer missed the 8th and Sthembiso Ngcobo netted his chance to secure the title for Chiefs.

Earlier in the day Kaiser Chiefs beat Moroka Swallows 3-0 and Wits beat SuperSport United 1-0 to make the final of the one day tournament.

Bible Inspiration:

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

(Isaiah 40:29 – 31)