Kaizer Chiefs legend Abel Shongwe feels the signing of Cole Alexander as a replacement for Willard Katsande is a short-term solution to their problems.
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Shongwe said while he has nothing against 32-year-old Alexander’s ability, he has at the end of the day replaced someone who is almost the same age.
Swazi international Shongwe believes the void left by 35-year-old Katsande should’ve been filled by a youngster who could’ve played for Amakhosi for several years to come.
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“Chiefs now I think will be a different team, I’m happy with the players the management have signed, they will help the team,” Shongwe told Kickoff.
“The player that I’m not too sure with is this boy that was playing in India. What worries me is the age because we’ve already got the players who are in that age [group].
“We are releasing someone who was around the same age as Katsande, that’s my biggest worry.”
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Meanwhile, Shongwe added that reports linking Bongani Zungu to the Glamour Boys excited him, but that move ultimately fell through.
“I heard that they might be bringing Bongani Zungu, so I don’t know what happened to that story, and that was gonna be a very good replacement for Katsande,” Shongwe, who played for Kaizer Chiefs between 1986-1988, said.
“I’d rather bring Parker and Blom in that position. It’s not that I doubt him [Alexander] but I doubt the age. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt because the coach was there [in India] and he knows him.
“So, probably he will fit exactly the space that was left by Katsande. But I’m happy with the signings of Kaizer Chiefs so far.”
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It was a day to forget for South Africa’s two men’s long jumpers in qualifying at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
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Cheswill Johnson failed to record a distance and withdrew injured while Ruswahl Samaai had a best effort of only 7.74m.
That distance was only good enough for 22nd, meaning Samaai missed out on a place in the 12-man final.
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Luvo Manyonga, South Africa’s silver medal winner from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, was banned from competing in Japan.
He was handed a four-year ban after failing to meet ‘whereabouts’ criteria, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced in June.
South Africa’s trio of men’s 100m entrants have all reached the semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
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The race is well and truly on to determine the fastest man in the world.
It must be said that the field looks to be the weakest in living memory following the retirement of Usain Bolt, the general absence of an heir to the Jamaican superstar in the Caribbean, and no Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman thanks to the ban handed down to the latter.
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That simply opens the door to the 24 remaining athletes to burst through and claim the gold, silver and bronze medals.
Akani Simbine (10.08) and Gift Leotlela (10.04) both won their heats while Shaun Maswanganyi (10.12) finished third in his heat to progress.
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Gift Leotlela will run in what looks to be the toughest of the three semi-finals, alongside Canada’s Andre De Grasse, Jamaica’s Yohan Blake and American Fred Kerley.
That race is scheduled for 12:15 SA time.
Shaun Maswanganyi will take to the start in the second semi-final (12:23) along with American race favourite Trayvon Bromell.
In the third and final semi-final (12:31), Akani Simbine will come up against another American in Ronnie Baker.
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Only the top two finishers as well as the next two fastest runners across all three semi-finals will qualify for the final.
The final will be held at 14:50 SA time on Sunday, 1 August.
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South Africa overcame the loss of injured star forward Pieter-Steph du Toit on Saturday to score 21 unanswered second half points and beat the British & Irish Lions 27-9 to level the series ahead of next weekend’s final Test.
A massive congratulations to the @Springboks for an outstanding performance.
We’ll see you next week#LionsRugby #BoksvLions #CastleLionsSeries pic.twitter.com/zXMSwOZI40
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 31, 2021
The dominance of the Springboks after half-time yielded tries from wing Makazole Mapimpi and centre Lukhanyo Am and the tourists finished a well-beaten team before the third Test and series decider, also in Cape Town.
Flyhalf Handre Pollard scored the rest of the home points from a conversion and five penalties while rival playmaker Dan Biggar slotted three penalties for the Lions.
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“This is special. It has been a tough week – the toughest week I have ever had to face,” said South Africa skipper and flanker Siya Kolisi.
“I am grateful to the management and coaches we have for making us focus on the mistakes we made (last weekend). We fight together as a team and it came through for us.
“We did not worry about mistakes and the injuries, we just gave 100 percent. We will enjoy this but the work is not done. It is all or nothing next week.
“You have got to trust in the system, trust in the guys around you. We have been in a bubble but we are thinking of the (South African) people. There is one more week and we will give it everything.”
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Reigning World Rugby Player of the Year Du Toit was forced to leave the field after 22 minutes following an earlier late tackle by South Africa-born Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe.
Van der Merwe and Springboks counterpart Cheslin Kolbe were yellow-carded within two minutes of each other midway through the opening half of a match superbly refereed by New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe.
The first Test had been riddled with controversial decisions and Australian referee Nic Berry and South African TV match official Marius Jonker came under heavy post-match fire.
As was the case in first Test last weekend, won 22-17 by the tourists, it was a tale of two halves at a spectator-less Cape Town Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lions led 9-6 at half-time and the advantage would have been greater had Kolisi not got an arm under the ball to prevent Lions centre Robbie Henshaw scoring after he crossed the tryline.
An astonishingly long first half lasted 64 minutes – 24 minutes more than it should have – owing to injuries, a mini brawl and video checks of various incidents.
After 45 minutes, Mapimpi snatched a Pollard cross-kick, cut inside and evaded several tackles to score and give the hosts a lead they never surrendered.
Am struck just past the hour mark, getting first to a grubber kick from scrumhalf Faf de Klerk just before the ball crossed the dead-ball line.
Pollard converted for an 18-9 advantage and then kicked three penalties against opponents who had nothing to offer as an attacking force in the closing stages.
Lions skipper and lock Alun Wyn Jones said: “There was a momentum shift in the second half in South Africa’s favour. The aerial battle went against us in the second half and so did the breakdowns.
“We did not want to take it to a third week but we will have to. We put ourselves under pressure in the second half.”
South Africa will create history if they triumph again next Saturday as neither they nor the British & Irish Lions have won a series between them having lost the first Test.