When the guy in the changing room corner ends up as your coach one day

In a classic case of gamekeeper turned poacher, French international referee Alexandre Ruiz recently quit officiating to become a defence coach for club side Montpellier

11.2013 | Simnikiwe Xabanisa

The Numbers Game

Has the data analytics revolution made football better in the last decade? Your answer may depend on whether your own favoured team has become better – or worse.

04.2023 | Carlos Amato

The new why

WHEN Rassie Erasmus – a man whose obsession with attention to detail could be accused of taking the romance of the unexpected out of sport – began coaching the Springboks, his philosophy was “keeping the main thing the main thing”.

09.2021 | Simnikiwe Xabanisa

A spirit of excellence

Bomber pilot, ukulele player and winner of 72 professional tournaments, South African golfing legend Bobby Locke was a charismatic and talented man.

08.2021 | Ingrid Wood

Rocnation? What’s that in English?

NOT long after Siya Kolisi became the Springboks’ first black captain in 2018, the Gwijo Squad – a passionate and particularly vocal group of young black professionals who revived an old tradition of singing Xhosa songs at sporting events – factored his name into the lyrics of an old favourite.

06.2021 | Simnikiwe Xabanisa

Is Neymar just the beginning?

For those not beset with an obsessive interest in football, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior is a 28-year-old forward who leads the line for both his country Brazil and the French football club Paris Saint-Germain.

05.2020 | Alistair Duff

What men can learn from women on the sports field

Different gender traits could make the difference between winning and losing on the sports field and in the workplace.

04.2020 | Martin Scheepers