Witsies don green and gold for Rugby World Cup
Two Wits students to represent South Africa at 2018 Youth Touch Rugby World Cup. (more…)
Rugby world cup: what to expect
Tonight is the opening of the highly anticipated world cup, with the Boks playing their first match tomorrow, are armed with the right details?
The world awaits: The rugby world cup will kick off in London tonight, with Twickenham stadium the stage for opening game. Photo: David Rogers.
The 2015 Rugby world cup will kick off tonight, when hosts England will face Fiji at 21:00.
The opening ceremony will start at 20:00 and will tell the story of the sport’s birth. Expected to be included is the story of William Webb Ellis, who in 1823 picked up a football and started running with it and is often credited as the creator of the sport.
Today the world cup’s trophy is named the Webb Ellis Cup. The show is expected to last 20 minutes and will end 40 minutes before the first match will kick off.
South Africa will play their first game tomorrow against Japan. All South Africa’s pool games are scheduled to take place at 17:45 making it convenient for most of us to catch the game.
Also joining us in Pool B will be Samoa, USA and Scotland. Most predictions point to us progressing from the group stages. But the problem starts after that. With their being a very good chance that we will be facing either hosts England or Australia in the quarter-finals, or perhaps even New-Zealand in the semi-finals.
If this is the case many believe the finals might be too predictable an outcome with all the tension placed in the previous rounds.
The obvious teams to keep an eye on are Australia and England in Pool A, New-Zealand, Argentina, France.
This will be the 4th World Cup for veteran Boks Schalk Burger and Victor Matfield. It was clear at their welcoming event, last Sunday, that the team have supporters backing them in England. More than a hundred people were stranded when the venue in Eastbourne reached full capacity, as crowds fill the stadium to cheer on the Boks.
SCIENCE INSIDE: I don’t like cricket, I love it!
We’re one week into the cricket world cup and today’s show looks at the science behind the sport. Experts and cricketers explain how the speed of the ball effects the game, what lucid dreaming can do to improve a batsman and all about the size, shape and make of cricket gear.
Finally, Michael Stevens from Jumping Kids and Dr Mariette Conning from the CSIR talk about how to build a prosthetic limb for a child cricket star.
The Science Inside, the show that goes inside the science of major news events, is produced by Paul McNally, Anina Mumm, DJ Keyez and Lutfiyah Suliman for The Wits Radio Academy. Tune in live to VowFM every Monday at 6pm.
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Witsies passionate about the World Cup despite the absence of Bafana Bafana
NEW KID IN TOWN: World Cup mascot Fuleco will become a familiar sight in the coming weeks of the tournament which starts tonight. Graphic: FIFA
Tonight, the one of the world’s biggest sporting showcases kicks off in Brazil. The 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony will launch football’s biggest international spectacle and despite the absence of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, Witsies are still looking forward to the month-long tournament.
“I am really excited about the World Cup. We wait four years to witness the best players competing against each other. A part of me is sad that South Africa won’t be participating in this World Cup,” said Phelelani Mpanza, Masters Business Sciences.
“I see Spain defending this one. They play really good football, but as an African, I will be supporting Ghana. BaGhana BaChana!”, added Mpanza.
“I think this is probably going to be one of the most competitive World Cups ever, which makes it highly unpredictable. But I think Brazil might take it this time around,” said Lloyd Uta, Masters Business Sciences, Marketing.
Some Witsies pledged their allegiance to African teams. “I’m supporting Ghana because it’s the closest one to home and they play good soccer,” said Pretty Makgabo, final year BAccSci.
Makgabo was excited about watching her favourite players, “I am looking forward to seeing Boateng, Gyan and Essien on the field.”
Makgabo is also looking forward to the opening ceremony, “I love those,” she said.
The European teams have a number of Witsies behind them. “I’m with Germany. I think Brazil is a cliche. I think Germany deserves to take it this time, Brazil has taken it too many times so personally I now have Brazil fatigue,” said Tinashe Chuchu, Masters Business Sciences.
Obakeng Motshome, final year BAccSci, is also keen on Germany. “I like their style of football. They really play to the whistle, they’ll keep scoring until the referee blows the final whistle.” Motshome expects an all-European final between Spain and Germany. “It would also be great to have the first European team to win the World Cup in South America,” he said.
Some Witsies were spoilt for choice. “I’m supporting Brazil, Germany, Portugal and Netherlands in that order,” said Hitekani Makhubele, final year BCom.
Makhubele holds a soft spot for Brazil as she says, “I got introduced to football in 2002, when I was 11 years old. And Brazil was wearing yellow which is my favourite colour.” She has been loyal to them since, “through two more World Cups and everything in between. I am expecting home ground advantage to make them go super saiyan… loyalties will be tested but Brazil to the end,” she said.
The opening ceremony will be televised later this evening with the first match between hosts Brazil and Croatia starting at 10pm, local time.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Wits Vuvuzela. Science Inside: The 2014 Fifa World Cup. June 3, 2014.
SCIENCE INSIDE: The 2014 Fifa World Cup
This week’s show looked at the science inside the 2014 FIFA Soccer World Cup. The players, the stadiums, the health and injuries of this incredible event. We’ll take you back to our own world cup experience in 2010 and explore some of the technologies that will be used for the first time in this year’s world cup, in Brazil. What does it take to build a stadium and why is mexican beef bad for footballers? We’ve also got a bit of a shocking story about a TB clinic in Jo’burg.
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