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Riley set for new Stormers role
Former Junior Boks captain Riley Norton may be utilised as more than just a lock for the Stormers this season. livefromquarantine.club
According to Rapport, the Cape club is grooming Norton to follow in the footsteps of Bok great Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert by becoming a lock who can also dominate at blindside flank.
Director of rugby John Dobson has been regularly deploying Norton at No 7 in training as the Stormers prepare for the new Vodacom URC season.
The idea is to turn the highly-rated youngster into the kind of versatile forward prized by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.
MORE: Rassie’s big De Villiers plan revealed
At 117kg and 1.99m, Norton has a physical profile similar to Du Toit and Mostert, and shown the work rate required to make the transition.
In his first appearance for the Boks against the Barbarians in June, he played all 80 minutes, carried eight times, completed all 11 of his tackles, and won four lineouts.
A hamstring injury ultimately prevented him from making his Test debut against England at Ellis Park.
Now Dobson is looking to get the 20-year-old back on the field, with Norton in contention to feature in a pre-season warm-up game against the Vodacom Bulls at Faure Street Stadium in Paarl on Friday.
ALSO: Dobbo reconnects Stormers for ‘tough start’
“We are very happy with where Riley is now,” Dobson told Rapport. “He definitely recovered from his injury quicker than we expected. Credit to him for his work ethic. He is known for that.”
Norton could make his Stormers debut against Connacht in Galway on 25 September.
Photo: @THESTORMERS/X
The post Riley set for new Stormers role appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Lions will have to ‘roll up their sleeves’ if they’re to win Currie Cup in 2026
The Lions are relishing their status as competition underdogs as they target winning their first Currie Cup title since 2015, when they face the Griquas in their semifinal clash at Griqua Park on Sunday (kick-off 1pm).
But they will have to do it the hard way, starting with an incredibly tough away match against the defending champs in Kimberley, followed by them having to travel to either Bloemfontein or Mbombela to face the Cheetahs or Pumas if they win this weekend.
It is a completely different scenario for the Lions this year after they were the heavy favourites over the past two seasons, only to fall at the final hurdle.
In 2024 and 2025 the Lions finished top of the Currie Cup standings, cruised through their semifinals and then, backed by teams full of URC regulars on their home ground Ellis Park, somehow contrived to lose at the death.
In both matches it was a penalty kick after the fulltime hooter that did them in, with former flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse knocking over a monster effort in the 82nd minute to see the Sharks clinch a 16-14 win in 2024, while last year Griquas flyhalf George Whitehead did the honours in the 83rd minute.
Now, with the Lions finishing fourth on the log, having to play away in the knockouts, and with them not expected to change their team as they did the last two years by bringing in URC regulars late in the competition, that may just be the tonic they need to take the pressure off and finally go all the way.
Big challenge
“The Griquas are a big challenge. They have shown this season that they are the team to beat. They finished top of the log by a distance, so we are alive to the challenge that is ahead of us,” said coach Mziwakhe Nkosi ahead of the match.
“It’s exacerbated by the fact that we have to play away, but that’s part of the game. We have taken a leaf out of a team like Munster who had to win three away on the trot to win the URC (in 2023). So it has been done before, but it’s going to require us rolling up our sleeves.
“We are definitely underdogs. We were there for their (Griquas) centenary (celebrations) and they put on a good show for their alumni. But we didn’t give a good account of ourselves then (losing 31-19).
“So hopefully on Sunday we give a good account of ourselves and get a win. There are no bonus points and no logs, so a single point win also counts.”
Nkosi backed his large contingent of young players in the squad to make the step up and get them through to a third straight Currie Cup final.
“Hopefully third time’s the charm. But for this group and these youngsters, 13 of them who are between the ages of 19 and 21, they are winners,” explained Nkosi.
“They have been to many finals as juniors and here is another opportunity for them to step up and get to another final. They have got to keep being winners and hopefully on Sunday it can happen for us and we get to the final next week.”
Préliminaires de la Ligue des champions CAF : Aiglons FC et Sidama Bunna se quittent sur un nul
Aiglons FC de N’Djamena, et le club éthiopien Sidama Bunna se sont neutralisés 0-0, samedi 5 septembre 2026, au stade Maréchal Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, lors de la manche aller du tour préliminaire de la Ligue des champions CAF. Pour leur premier match continental, les Aiglons ont dominé la rencontre pendant les 90 minutes sans […]
L’article Préliminaires de la Ligue des champions CAF : Aiglons FC et Sidama Bunna se quittent sur un nul est apparu en premier sur Tchadinfos.
FIFA : Quand Eto’o devient l’avocat d’Infantino (AB. Lahouari)
Samuel Eto’o a décidé de parler. Et cette fois, il ne parle pas seulement au nom du Cameroun. Le président de la Fédération camerounaise de football appelle ouvertement les fédérations africaines à soutenir Gianni Infantino dans la course à la présidence de la FIFA. Une prise de position qui n’a rien d’anodin à quelques mois du Congrès électif prévu le 18 mars 2027 à Rabat.
Derrière son plaidoyer se cache une autre réalité. Eto’o ne défend pas seulement Infantino. Il va jusqu’à affirmer qu’avec des budgets annuels de 20 ou 40 millions de dollars, l’Afrique aurait pu retenir des joueurs comme Mbappé ou Tchouaméni. Or, le débat n’est pas là. Il est le produit d’un autre système où l’Etat est omniprésent, ce qui lui a permis de faire la carrière que l’on lui connaît sans aucun retour financier.
Cela dit, peut-on demander à 54 fédérations africaines de voter comme un seul homme ? C’est probablement là que se trouve la principale faiblesse de son appel. L’Afrique n’est pas un bloc. Les intérêts ne sont pas les mêmes, les relations avec Zurich diffèrent d’un pays à l’autre et les ambitions personnelles des dirigeants africains pèseront lourd dans le scrutin.
Il y a une autre question, beaucoup plus camerounaise celle-là. Eto’o parle-t-il au nom de l’Afrique ou au nom du Cameroun ? Depuis son arrivée à la tête de la FECAFOOT, l’ancien capitaine des Lions indomptables a souvent été au centre de débats, de conflits et de rapports de force. Son soutien à Infantino peut donc également être lu à travers le prisme de ses propres relations avec la FIFA et de la place qu’il entend occuper dans le football africain.
Ce qui est certain, c’est qu’Eto’o a choisi de monter au front. Infantino est contesté en Europe. Eto’o lui apporte l’Afrique. Mais l’Afrique lui répondra-t-elle d’une seule voix ? C’est toute la question. Car en mars 2027, il ne suffira pas de convaincre Eto’o. Il faudra convaincre l’Afrique. Et entre les deux, il y a une différence de taille.
AB. LAHOUARI
L’article FIFA : Quand Eto’o devient l’avocat d’Infantino (AB. Lahouari) est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.