‘Belgium is friendly to our Africans’: Pitso backs Relebohile Mofoken…

Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane has welcomed Relebohile Mofokeng’s move to Belgium, saying it provides the perfect platform for the young winger to develop before making a step up to one of Europe’s elite leagues.

The 21-year-old recently completed his transfer from Orlando Pirates to Belgian champions Royal Union Saint-Gilloise after an impressive breakthrough campaign in South Africa. amunra.qpon

Mosimane believes Belgium has long been one of the best destinations for emerging African talent, pointing to the success of former Bafana Bafana forward Percy Tau, who also used the Belgian league as a springboard to bigger opportunities.

“Countries like Belgium, where Rele [Mofokeng] has gone, that’s where Percy [Tau] came,” Mosimane explained.

“Percy played there, started there.

“Belgium has launched a lot of players and gave them opportunities to go to big leagues.

“Even themselves, the [Romelu] Lukakus, Kevin De Bruyne, [Youri] Tielemans. You have to play in Belgium to do that. Belgium is also friendly to our Africans; the rules are much better.”

Mofokeng moves to Belgium

Mosimane also highlighted Belgium’s more accommodating regulations for African players compared to England, where strict work permit rules can make transfers far more difficult.

“It’s not like in England, where you have to have 70% caps for the last two years or a year. I don’t know what that criteria is now, so it’s not easy to get those players in,” Mosimane added.

Mofokeng has since returned to South Africa after travelling to Belgium to complete his medical examinations. He is expected to rejoin Royal Union Saint-Gilloise in the coming weeks for the start of pre-season preparations.

The talented winger heads to Europe after helping Bafana Bafana reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he featured in all three of the team’s group-stage matches.

How long will Rele play in Belgium?

Former England scrumhalf Danny Care has launched a scathing assessment of his country’s performance against the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Care says the 45-21 defeat exposed deep-rooted problems, warning that Steve Borthwick’s side cannot hope to beat the world’s best while repeatedly undermining themselves.

England conceded seven tries and went 17-0 down inside the opening 12 minutes. They also had to do without two yellow-carded players late in the game.

ALSO: World media salutes Boks as England are buried

“You’ve got to go and be brave to try to win in South Africa,” Care told ITV4. “Unfortunately, we weren’t brave enough.”

Care reserved his strongest criticism for England’s discipline, which he believes has become a defining weakness.

“England’s discipline again is an absolute achilles heel,” he said. “That’s over 100 minutes of play now in six matches that England haven’t had 15 men on the field.

“They’ve conceded 95 points in that 100 minutes. So over a full Test match, they’re playing with an arm behind their back. They really are. You cannot expect to win Test matches against the big teams like that.”

MALLETT: Scoreline flattered Springboks

The defeat extended England’s losing run to five Tests, and Care warned that anything less than victories in their next two matches would only increase the scrutiny on Borthwick and his coaching team.

“That’s five losses in a row now; it can’t be six or seven, it really can’t,” he said. “Nothing other than England winning the next two games for me is acceptable.

“The Six Nations was their worst Six Nations in history; that wasn’t acceptable. If they play well against Fiji and go to Argentina and win, then I think you’ve taken the learnings.

“If we don’t, then I worry there are a lot of questions that are going to be asked again.”

GEORGE: Bok defeat will make us better

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

The post Borthwick blasted after Bok humiliation appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Rassie Erasmus expects a switched-on performance from a new-look Springbok team that he believes has the depth and combinations to handle a dangerous Scotland side.

“We have good depth in our squad, and this will be a great test for the team,” said Erasmus on Monday after announcing the Bok line-up to face the Scots in their Nations Championship clash at Loftus on Saturday.

Ten players from the match 23 that beat England 45-21 last week have been retained, among them Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Paul de Villiers, Ruan Nortjé and skipper Pieter-Steph du Toit, who all keep their starting spots.

TEAM: Pollard, Papier take charge of new-look Boks

Canan Moodie moves up from the bench, while Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Zach Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon and Grant Williams have been named among the replacements.

“We told the players from the outset that we would give as many of them a chance as possible to play this season, while we are also trying to manage some players and others are not available for selection this week,” Erasmus said.

“So it was important to select a team with some continuity from last week, while bringing in players we believe will be the right fit for what we are expecting from Scotland.

“They had a good Six Nations campaign, and they come off a victory against Argentina away, so they will be psyched up going into this match.”

ALSO: Rassie reveals how Zach earned his chance

Erasmus has reshuffled his backline, with Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe and Moodie forming the back three, Kriel and Willemse combining in midfield, and Handré Pollard and Embrose Papier running things at halfback.

Up front, Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw make up the front row, with Cobus Wiese joining Nortjé in the second row. No 8 Evan Roos will pack down in the loose trio alongside Du Toit and De Villiers.

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“All of the players have been working extremely hard at training, and they are fully aware of the threat Scotland poses. Many of these combinations have played together for the Springboks and for their provincial teams this season,” Erasmus added.

“Many of the players will also be playing at their home ground at Loftus Versfeld, so they know the field and conditions well.”

MEDIA REACTION: SA hails Boks’ fast start and fast finish

Turning to the opposition, Erasmus was under no illusions about the challenge Scotland present.

“They are a quality team, who will test us in all areas of the game, and they are well coached, so they will throw everything they have at us,” he said.

“Matches against them are always tough, and looking back, there have been some very close encounters between the sides in the past, so we need to be switched on from the first whistle, be accurate in all departments of the game, and use our opportunities if we want to get the desired result.”

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images

The post Rassie finds the ‘right fit’ to face Scots appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Newcastle United a officialisé le départ de Sandro Tonali, ce lundi matin. Le milieu de terrain italien rejoint Tottenham Hotspur dans le cadre d’un transfert définitif, pour la deuxième plus grosse vente de l’histoire du club.

Fin de l’aventure à St. James’ Park

Sandro Tonali quitte Newcastle United pour Tottenham Hotspur. Le milieu de terrain de Newcastle United a été transféré définitivement à Tottenham Hotspur. Le joueur de 26 ans, arrivé de l’AC Milan à l’été 2023, quitte St. James’ Park après avoir disputé 110 matchs pour le club et marqué dix buts toutes compétitions confondues. En deux saisons, il s’était imposé comme un élément central du projet de Eddie Howe.

Un transfert record et un trophée en héritage

Le montant du transfert, qui n’a pas été dévoilé, constitue la deuxième somme la plus élevée jamais perçue pour un joueur dans l’histoire du club. Sandro quitte Newcastle après avoir remporté un trophée majeur. Il a joué un rôle déterminant dans la victoire du club en Carabao Cup en mars 2025. La saison dernière, il a disputé 53 matchs, dont 11 en Ligue des champions, confirmant son statut de taulier au milieu.

Remerciements et nouveau défi

« Nous remercions Sandro pour sa contribution au club et lui souhaitons le meilleur pour la suite ». Tout le monde à Newcastle United remercie Sandro pour sa contribution au club et lui souhaite, ainsi qu’à sa famille, le meilleur pour l’avenir. Direction désormais Tottenham pour Tonali, qui va devoir s’imposer dans l’entrejeu des Spurs et prouver que son passage à Newcastle n’était que le début d’une grande carrière en Premier League.

The post Transfert : Newcastle annonce le départ de Sandro Tonali pour Tottenham appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.