Griquas and Pumas chasing local domination with 2026 Currie Cup title

The Griquas and Pumas are looking to continue their superb domination of the local South African rugby scene when they collide in the Currie Cup final at Griqua Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm). cricket-info.homes

Since 2022 either the Griquas or the Pumas have featured in three of the four Currie Cup finals, while both teams have battled it out in every final of the SA Cup competition since its inception in 2023.

It’s an incredible achievement from the two teams, who have impressively overtaken the Cheetahs as the best of the rest in the country, after the four SA United Rugby Championship franchises, the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers.

The final is a repeat of the 2022 edition, which the Griquas hosted but were then stunned 26-19 by the Pumas, who lifted the Currie Cup trophy for the first and only time in their history.

In 2023 the Pumas attempted to defend their title but were beaten by the Cheetahs in the final in Bloemfontein.

The following year saw the Sharks overcome the Lions at Ellis Park, while in 2025 it was the Griquas’ turn to upset the odds against the Lions in Johannesburg as a late penalty saw them snatch the win after the fulltime hooter, to secure their fourth Currie Cup title.

Another title

Now both the Griquas and Pumas will be looking to add another title to their collection, and the team from Kimberley will again be favourites in this final.

Griquas have only lost one game in the competition this season, when they were upset by the Stormers in Cape Town in their opener, with them going on to win their next seven straight games, including an impressive 38-14 pool win over the Pumas in Mbombela, and a thumping 52-12 semifinal win over the Lions to power their way into the final.

However, the Pumas cannot be underestimated, as they showed when they triumphed against the odds back in 2022. Also, while they lost three games in this year’s Currie Cup round robin phase, they have started to hit their straps at just the right time.

The Cheetahs had been the second best team behind the Griquas during the pool phase of the competition, but the Pumas smashed them 52-26 in their final pool game in Mbombela two weekends ago, and then recovered from a 10-3 deficit at halftime to stun the central side 27-24 in their semifinal in Bloemfontein last Saturday.

It is thus two in form teams that are set to duke it out in what should be a grandstand Currie Cup final in Kimberley.

The Pumas will also take heart from having already edged the Griquas 38-35 in the final of the SA Cup competition earlier this year to clinch their second title, while the home team will be hunting for a bit of revenge.

Veteran centre Anton Lienert-Brown knows the key to victory for the All Blacks in Saturday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry finale will come down to the “small margins”.

South Africa and New Zealand will clash at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, with Dave Rennie’s men looking to level the four-Test series and cap an eight-match tour on a high.

The Boks won successive Tests in Cape Town and Joburg after the Kiwis drew first blood at Ellis Park three weeks ago, but Lienert-Brown believes the All Blacks have proved they are not far off competing with the world champions.

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“We can all see it comes down to small margins. In the last two Tests they’ve had the rub of the green at that; they’ll probably say the same thing about Ellis Park,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“Even though we ended up winning by a big margin [33-16], it really was small margins, so we expect nothing less this weekend.”

The New Zealanders kicked off their tour of the Republic with a five-match unbeaten run that included a clean sweep of the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions, giving confidence to the new era under Rennie.

“We’d hope to get another one at least over in South Africa, that would have been great,” Lienert-Brown added. “But as a group, we’ve learned a lot.

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“We’ve played the best team in the world in their backyard, and a lot of new players have been exposed to that kind of rugby.

“For a team that’s come together with a new coaching staff – I don’t know, we’ve been together for three, four months now – I think we’ve been building nicely.

“But we’ve got to put results on the board. The last two haven’t been what the jersey requires, so this weekend is extremely important to this group.”

The 93-cap Lienert-Brown, who will have played six times and started his fourth match in eight weeks on Saturday, also gave his take on his trip to Mzansi.

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“My experience with South African people and my time in South Africa is that they’re awesome people,” he said. “Even though you want to go out there and beat them, off the field they’re great humans.

“And obviously we spent 19 hours on a plane together, although everyone slept most of the time [laughs].”

Quizzed on whether similar tours should be more prevalent in future, the 31-year-old replied: “It’s not my job to figure out whether it’s feasible or not.

“But I’ve been around for a decade in this team, and it’s certainly one of the coolest things I’ve experienced as an All Black. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Photo: Johan Orton/Gallo Images

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NAIROBI, Kenya, September 11, 2026 – Tusker head coach Julien Mette says he expects nothing short of a win in Sunday’s return leg of the Caf Confederations Cup preliminary round match against Al Ahli Madani at the Nyayo Stadium.

Mette says a defeat would be a damning indictment of their qualities as a team and their ability to play at the highest level.

“If I sum up, the first game I was not really stressed, but I had a little stress because we didn’t know really that team. Now that we have played them, we know them 100 per cent so we will not be surprised. If we are not able to win or to secure the qualification, means that we don’t have the level in terms of tactical and mental,” the gaffer indicated.

The Frenchman adds that they have studied their opponents closely and are ready to pounce on them in their quest for a positive result.

“We have some concerns, but not so much because we have watched it and we have been doing video sessions. My job is to work on the weaknesses we have had. We have trained on that, so now they are prepared,” Mette said.

The first leg between the two sides at the Kigali Pele Stadium, last weekend, ended in a 2-2 draw – the brewers surrendering a 2-0 lead in the second 45.

Mette attributes the slip to a litany of issues, including his charges’ relative inexperience at the continental level coupled with their scant knowledge of their Sudanese opponents.

“Everybody said it was a positive result but then again when you are leading 2-0, you have to secure it. The lack of maturity cost us because some of the experienced players were not on the pitch. There was the question of whether to keep the possession or to go for a third. We played long balls and were punished,” he said.

Mette added: “The player who scored the set-piece and then the penalty, we didn’t know much about him. We haven’t been able to identify him because we have only seen three of their friendly matches. That is the challenge of the first round in that we didn’t know much about the opponents.”

As a template for the continental campaign, Tusker have Nairobi United to look at as a team that have defied the odds to play at the highest level of the competition.

Naibois famously became the second Kenyan side to reach the group stages of the Confederations Cup, outrunning Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel in last year’s competition.

Granted that the feat is not one to be sniffed at, Mette is determined to go one better by seamlessly progressing through, rather than go all the way to post-match penalties as was the case for Patrick Aussems’ side.

“It was very good news for Kenyan football and a huge performance. But, it was not a win…it was a draw and draws, go to penalty. These first rounds are always very, very tight. If we can copy paste what Nairobi United did, I will take it but I cannot imagine to go on the penalty,” he said.

Well, for them to even have the chance to fight for a slot in the group stages, the brewers will have to go through Al Ahli Madani.

As the first leg showed, Mette’s charges cannot afford a slothful approach or even treat their opponents with kid gloves.

They do that and it will turn into a game of razor thin margins – home crowd or not.

À 35 ans, James Rodriguez s’offre une nouvelle aventure. Libre depuis son départ de Minnesota United, l’ancien joueur du Real Madrid retourne dans son pays natal et s’engage avec l’Atlético Nacional.

Il s’agit d’un véritable retour aux sources pour le milieu offensif colombien. James Rodriguez a débuté sa carrière professionnelle en janvier 2007 sous les couleurs de l’Envigado FC. Un an plus tard, il rejoignait l’Argentine et Banfield, avant de poursuivre son ascension en Europe.

Libre de tout contrat, le Colombien retrouve aujourd’hui son pays natal avec l’Atlético Nacional, troisième du championnat colombien la saison dernière. Une nouvelle étape pour le joueur, qui a porté les maillots de plusieurs grands clubs européens, parmi lesquels le FC Porto, l’AS Monaco, le Real Madrid, le Bayern Munich et Everton.

Une carrière riche en grands clubs

Sous le maillot du Real Madrid, James Rodriguez a disputé 125 rencontres, pour 37 buts et 42 passes décisives. Avec le FC Porto, il a totalisé 108 matchs, 32 buts et 42 passes décisives. Au Bayern Munich, il a également laissé son empreinte avec 15 buts et 20 passes décisives en 67 apparitions.

Au total, le Colombien compte 524 matchs professionnels, 127 buts et 163 passes décisives. Des statistiques qui illustrent la qualité et l’influence du milieu offensif tout au long de sa carrière.

Un passage express à Minnesota United

Avant de revenir en Colombie, James Rodriguez évoluait à Minnesota United. Arrivé le 6 février 2026, il n’a disputé que huit rencontres avec le club américain, délivrant deux passes décisives.

Cette expérience de courte durée l’a donc conduit à ouvrir un nouveau chapitre de sa carrière. Avec l’Atlético Nacional, James Rodriguez espère retrouver davantage de temps de jeu et relancer une trajectoire qui l’a longtemps placé parmi les grands talents du football sud-américain.

« James Rodriguez, c’est l’Atlético Nacional »

Pour officialiser son arrivée, le club colombien a publié un communiqué particulièrement élogieux à l’égard de sa nouvelle recrue.

« Ici, il n’y a pas de publicité. Il y a un travail fait par amour pour ce club. […] Quand un club travaille pour le club, la grandeur n’est pas un discours : c’est une conséquence. Ils ont fait confiance. Ils y ont cru. C’était inévitable. James Rodriguez, c’est l’Atlético Nacional. Le plus grand chez le plus grand », a notamment écrit l’Atlético Nacional.

À 35 ans, James Rodriguez retrouve ainsi la Colombie, là où son parcours professionnel avait commencé près de vingt ans plus tôt. Avec l’Atlético Nacional, le Colombien entend désormais donner un nouvel élan à sa carrière.

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Quelques années seulement après avoir raccroché les crampons, Cesc Fàbregas s’est déjà installé parmi les jeunes entraîneurs à suivre en Europe. L’Espagnol a connu une progression fulgurante depuis ses débuts sur le banc de Como, au point de conduire le club italien jusqu’à la Ligue des champions.

L’histoire a commencé en 2023, lorsque Fàbregas a mis un terme à sa carrière de joueur à Como et intégré l’encadrement du club. Après le départ de Moreno Longo en novembre, il a été propulsé entraîneur intérimaire de l’équipe première. En six rencontres de Serie B, il a enregistré trois victoires, deux nuls et une défaite, permettant à Como de passer de la septième à la troisième place.

Quelques mois plus tard, Como retrouvait officiellement la Serie A pour la première fois depuis 21 ans. Fàbregas, resté adjoint d’Osian Roberts jusqu’à la fin de la saison, était alors confirmé comme entraîneur principal à l’été 2024.

Une première saison déjà remarquée

Pour sa première saison complète à la tête de Como, Fàbregas a obtenu une 10e place en Serie A en 2024-2025. Son équipe a notamment réalisé une deuxième partie de saison particulièrement convaincante, avec 31 points récoltés sur les matches retour et une série de six victoires consécutives.

Cette première expérience dans l’élite lui a surtout permis d’installer progressivement ses principes. Como s’est distingué par un football basé sur la possession, la construction depuis l’arrière et une certaine liberté accordée aux joueurs offensifs. Lors de cette saison, l’équipe de Fàbregas figurait notamment parmi les formations de Serie A réalisant le plus de passes verticales.

De la 10e place à la Ligue des champions

La véritable accélération est intervenue lors de la saison 2025-2026. En seulement deux ans après son arrivée définitive sur le banc, Fàbregas a conduit Como à la quatrième place de Serie A, synonyme de qualification historique pour la Ligue des champions. Le club italien s’est ainsi retrouvé devant plusieurs formations beaucoup plus habituées aux joutes européennes.

Cette progression résume à elle seule l’ascension du technicien espagnol : intérimaire en Serie B en 2023, entraîneur principal en Serie A un an plus tard, puis qualifié pour la Ligue des champions en 2026.

Et son entrée dans la compétition européenne n’a rien eu d’un simple passage symbolique. Pour la première rencontre de son histoire en Ligue des champions, Como a dominé le RB Leipzig 4-1, offrant à Fàbregas une première soirée européenne particulièrement marquante sur le banc.

À seulement 39 ans, l’ancien milieu de terrain a donc parcouru très rapidement les premières étapes de sa nouvelle carrière. Son expérience de joueur au plus haut niveau, notamment avec Arsenal, Barcelone, Chelsea et la sélection espagnole, lui donne une base importante. Mais c’est surtout son travail à Como qui commence désormais à définir Fàbregas comme entraîneur.

De la Serie B à la Ligue des champions en quelques saisons, son ascension est déjà spectaculaire.

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