Edinburgh prop Venter earns surprise Springboks call-up
Edinburgh loosehead Boan Venter has earned a surprise South Africa call-up in a blow to Scotland's hopes of capping the 28-year-old.Venter, born and raised in South Africa, signed for Edinburgh from Cheetahs in 2021 and is due to become Scottish qualified in February 2026 on residency grounds.He has previously spoken about his desire to play for Scotland, external and follow in the footsteps of fellow South African-born props Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel. However, Venter has now been selected in a 45-man squad as the Springboks prepare for a clash with the Barbarians on 28 June, before Tests against Italy and Georgia next month."Boan has been consistent for Edinburgh in the URC and the Challenge Cup, and he is familiar with the South African structures after playing for the Cheetahs and coming through our junior ranks, so we are looking forward to seeing him in action on the field," South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus said.A Scottish Rugby directive to have fewer foreign players in professional club squads has led to Henco Venter and Sebastian Cancelliere leaving Glasgow in recent weeks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Jobe Bellingham off the mark for Borussia Dortmund as Inter Milan leave it late in Club World Cup
Jobe Bellingham scored on his first start for Borussia Dortmund as the Bundesliga giants beat Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3 at the Club World Cup. Bellingham opened his Dortmund account on the stroke of half-time in Cincinnati, with the former Sunderland midfielder's deflected volley providing a 3-1 interval advantage. Lucas Ribeiro gave the Sundowns a shock 11th-minute lead with a brilliant strike. Felix Nmecha capitalised on an error from Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams five minutes later, and Serhou Guirassy nodded Dortmund ahead before Bellingham's special moment. Khuliso Mudau's own goal added to Sundowns' misery and the tie appeared over. But there was late drama from the South Africans as Iqraam Rayners and substitute Lebo Mothiba set up a grandstand finish. Inter Milan kept alive their hopes of making the last 16 with a late 2-1 comeback victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle. Ryoma Watanabe converted Takuro Kaneko's square pass to give Urawa a shock 11th-minute lead. Lautaro Martinez headed against the Urawa crossbar in the first half, but the Champions League finalists struggled to break down compact Japanese opponents. Urawa held out until 12 minutes from time when Martinez met Nicolo Barella 's corner with a brilliant overhead kick. Inter's winner came in the second of four added minutes after the ball bounced around the Urawa box. Valentin Carboni was the calmest man in the penalty area to sidefoot home from eight yards and give Cristian Chivu his first win as Inter manager.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Motherwell fans turned on me just like they did with Stuart Kettlewell ... former Fir Park boss Graham Alexander recalls the personal abuse he endured during his time managing in Scotland
Bradford City manager Graham Alexander admits he has 'massive empathy' with his fellow former Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell after also suffering personal abuse in his own reign at Fir Park. Kettlewell, who is now manager at Kilmarnock, quit Motherwell after two years in charge in January citing the criticism he had received from supporters during a downturn in results. Kettlewell said quitting was the right decision for his family, because it was 'getting to the point where my wife has to take the children away from a game because you physically can't sit there anymore'. Alexander admits he was startled to read about Kettlewell's exit from Motherwell, as it chimed with his own experience – and the knock on effect on his loved ones - at Fir Park. He explained: 'When Stuart came out and said why he left; I shook my head. 'I'd thought it was personal to me. But obviously not. It's not a nice experience and it's unjust - whether you're doing a good or a bad job. 'But I know for a fact that me and (assistant) Chris (Lucketti) did a good job and I can see Stuart did a fantastic job. 'I had massive empathy with him because I'd experienced it and know how horrible it is.' Alexander helped Well qualify for Europe in season 2020-21 but quit after they were knocked out of Europa Conference League qualifying following home and away defeats by Sligo Rovers in July 29. He added: 'For me, abuse after the first leg directed as myself and Chris got the ball rolling. That's okay. I can live with that. 'But when I got home that night my wife, Karen, told me she couldn't come to games any more. 'She'd committed to the job as much as me by leaving our family home of 20 years to live in a completely different city with no friends. 'Managers can be quite a selfish bunch. But the sacrifices family make for you are big. 'So if they're getting no joy coming to see your team play or don't feel they can go to your workplace, that's not healthy. 'That brought it home and made me stop and think. I just wanted to plan for the second leg, get through it. 'But we lost in Ireland and the stuff directed not just towards me, but to the players, was bad. 'I sat up all night, spoke to chairman Jim McMahon in the morning and said I thought it was time for us to stop there. 'It was, genuinely, mutual thing. For a while, I regretted it because I'd never walked away from anything. 'But it genuinely felt like if I left, it would go away for everybody. And I think Stuart felt the same.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lennon Miller's dad Lee confirms Scotland star is set to leave Motherwell this summer... and would favour a move abroad
LEE MILLER has confirmed his son Lennon is primed to move on from Motherwell this summer - with the Fir Park teenager's heart now set on a transfer abroad. The 18-year-old enjoyed a scintillating season in claret and amber, becoming the Lanarkshire club's youngest ever captain and attracting interest from clubs across Europe. This week, new Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou admitted he's working on the assumption he'll lose his star player before the season begins. The Steelmen hope to net upwards of £5m for a talent who recently became a full Scotland international. And while Celtic and Rangers have been credited with an interest in the midfielder, his father - the former Falkirk and Aberdeen striker - indicated that his ambitions lie elsewhere. Asked if he believed Lennon would move in this transfer window, he said: 'I think so, yeah. There's a lot of interest in Lennon. I go on Twitter and it's a new club every day. 'In terms of bids going in for him, there's nothing gone in this summer. 'There were a few bids in January and the valuation of Lennon wasn't met, so it's one of those ones we'll just wait. 'Lennon's on holiday now, he's chilling out, just relaxing, ready for the season coming ahead but who knows where that'll be. No idea.' Miller revealed, however, that his son is likely to follow the recent trend of emerging Scottish talents who've sought to broaden their horizons by moving overseas, primarily to Italy. 'His preferable choice would be abroad,' he added. 'He's not just going to go to a club for the sake of it. It needs to have the right environment, it needs to have the right manager, the right club. 'Lennon's not bothered with the money side of things, that'll come. Obviously, it's a short career and you need to earn money. 'But he wants to go and progress his career and then kick on again. 'So, we'll see. I don't know what that'll be. But it needs to be a place where he can then grow again.' Miller looked set to earn a big money move in January until a hairline fracture of his ankle sidelined him. Since then, he's made his full Scotland debut against Iceland with his first start then coming away to Liechtenstein. With speculation surrounding his now future mounting by the day, his father feels it's better for all concerned if that matter is now resolved. 'A bit of uncertainty isn't great,' he said. 'Although, he just gets on with it, he just plays football, that's what he's there to do. 'He just wants to play football whatever it is, whatever it may be. 'But the next move for Lennon is so important in terms of his development.. His development is key in this.'
