SA’s hopes on special treble

SOUTH AFRICAN sports fans get a rare chance tomorrow to watch three national teams in action on one day – Bafana Bafana, the Proteas and the Springboks. Let’s start with the “home match”. Bafana’s road to the 2019 World Cup in Russia started with a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso. But tomorrow they face Senegal, one of the football giants of Africa, and the current leaders of Group D.

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane (he scored twice just last Sunday), Newcastle’s Mohamed Diame and Everton’s Idrissa Gueye are three of the big names in the Senegal team.

Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba is under pressure to get a win on the board, but it won’t be easy. We would like to see Bafana play with freedom and skill.

Speaking of coaches under pressure, Springbok mentor Allister Coetzee is in the same shaky boat as Mashaba.

The Boks have had a disappointing year, but there are some fixtures that are guaranteed to bring out the best in any South African rugby player.

Playing England at Twickenham, the home of rugby, is definitely one of those occasions.

There is also the intriguing sub-plot of the two coaches – Coetzee and England’s Eddie Jones, who famously masterminded Japan to a shock win over the Boks at last year’s World Cup.

The Proteas made our hearts swell with joy when they overcame a terrible opening day to convincingly beat the Aussies in Perth.

Temba Bavuma’s magnificent run out, Kagiso Rabada’s fiery bowling and the superb stroke play from JP Duminy and Dean Elgar will remain etched in our memories for a long time.

Tomorrow the second of three Tests starts in Perth, and “Fabulous Faf” and his team have a great opportunity to clinch the third successive Test series victory in Australia.

A “one-two-three” by Bafana, the Boks and the Proteas would be a wild and wonderful weekend for all of us.