Midweek, and the knockout cup has its first semi-finalist. SA sport news Wednesday brings a Sundowns side that went through with four regulars in tracksuits, three quarter-finals now pinned down, a Springbok bench worth a debate and a title race tighter than the log first suggests.
1. The Big One: SA sport news Wednesday starts with Sundowns’ depth
Plenty of clubs rotate in a cup quarter-final. Fewer rotate and still win. Miguel Cardoso left Thabang Matuludi, Marcelo Allende, Aubrey Modiba and Cassius Mailula on the bench at Loftus on Tuesday night, four men who started Saturday’s 4-1 league win over Durban City, and Sundowns still beat Golden Arrows 1-0.
The reason sits five days away. USM Alger come to Pretoria for the CAF Super Cup on Sunday, and iDiski Times reports Cardoso changed his side with that in mind. That is the real story here: a squad able to win a knockout tie with several first-choice players resting. Nobody else is in the last four yet. How the night at Loftus unfolded
2. The Matchday Move: the last eight, all dated
The PSL has now listed the remaining three quarter-finals. Orlando Pirates host Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday 7 November, 15:00 SAST. On Sunday 8 November, Kaizer Chiefs meet Siwelele at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane at 15:00, and Stellenbosch take on AmaZulu at Danie Craven Stadium at 18:00.
Watch Chiefs in Limpopo: Peter Mokaba is where Sekhukhune beat Richards Bay 3-1 in the last 16, so the ground has already staged one statement in this competition. And Stellenbosch draw no favours, because AmaZulu sit third in the league. Three ties, two days, three semi-final places still open. Where Pirates stand this season
3. The Talking Point: six forwards on the bench in Turin
Rassie Erasmus has picked six forwards and two backs among his replacements for Saturday’s Test against Italy at the Allianz Stadium, 13:40 SAST. Grant Williams and Manie Libbok are the only backs on the bench, with Libbok as the cover at flyhalf behind Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Planet Rugby’s reading is that with André Esterhuizen injured, Erasmus no longer has the hybrid player who made other splits work.
Our view: the reward is a fresh pack for the final half hour. The risk is an early backline injury that leaves the Boks reshuffling with one specialist back still to come on. Erasmus has backed the forwards. Would you? The full team and the thinking behind it
4. The Stat That Matters: 1
One point separates the top two in the Betway Premiership, and the log hides a twist. Sundowns lead on 26 points from 10 matches, while Orlando Pirates have 25 from nine, according to the PSL’s own table. The champions have a game in hand.
Do the sums and neither side has lost a league match: Sundowns have eight wins and two draws, Pirates eight wins and one draw. AmaZulu are next, on 22 from nine. Whatever happens in the cups, the league is already a race between two unbeaten clubs. The Sundowns story so far
5. The One to Watch: Iqraam Rayners
Rayners started on Tuesday among all the changes, and he was the difference. His goal in the 68th minute, from Antonio van Wyk’s delivery, beat Dumisani Msibi, the Arrows goalkeeper who had already kept him out once after the break.
Why watch him now: Sunday’s CAF Super Cup at Loftus is a trophy on the line against the Algerian side, and Cardoso has a decision to make. Does he start the striker who just won him a quarter-final, five days later, or hand the shirt to someone who rested? Either way, Rayners has made the choice harder. CAF on Sunday’s Super Cup
The braai question for tonight: is a club that can win a quarter-final with four regulars on the bench the scariest thing in South African football, or does a game in hand make Pirates the real favourites? Bring the log.