Weekend sports wrap: Bafana stun Egypt as Sharks beat Leinster

Bafana Bafana rounded off their international window by beating Egypt in Cairo on Sunday. In the United Rugby Championship, South Africa’s two home teams won on Saturday, while the Stormers and Bulls lost away by four points apiece and each earned a losing bonus point.

There was no English Premier League programme this weekend because of the international break. The biggest football result beyond Bafana’s win came in the UEFA Nations League, where England put seven past Croatia.

URC Round 2: home wins and narrow away defeats

The South African sides split their four Round 2 fixtures, with the home venues making the difference on the scoreboard. For context on rugby markets before the next round, see our rugby betting guide. The URC’s official Round 2 review confirms all four results.

Sharks beat Leinster and lead the early table

The Sharks beat defending champions Leinster 26–20 in Durban and took a try-scoring bonus point for the second straight week. Edwill van der Merwe’s late interception try settled the result and secured that extra point. It left the Sharks as the only side with the maximum 10 points after two rounds, an encouraging start rather than a verdict on a long season.

The hosts also found important gains up front. Their scrum pressure and a powerful carry from Eben Etzebeth helped turn field position into chances, while Leinster kept the contest alive until the closing minutes. The Sharks’ match reportgives a closer account of how the home side built the win.

Lions surge past Ospreys

The Lions trailed Ospreys 12–10 at half-time in Johannesburg before pulling away to win 35–19 with a bonus point. Kelly Mpeku scored twice in a three-minute spell as the game swung after the break. Two wins from two put the Lions third in the early standings, but their next test arrives immediately: a trip to the Bulls in a South African derby.

Stormers and Bulls fall short on the road

In Edinburgh, the Stormers lost 17–13 after Rory McHaffie’s late try and James Grayson’s conversion turned a tight contest. The four-point margin earned them a losing bonus point. The Bulls also took one away from Thomond Park, where Munster edged them 26–22. Munster’s young forward Charlie O’Shea scored twice in a four-try home performance.

Those are narrow defeats, but neither should be filed as a win waiting to happen. The Stormers host the in-form Sharks next; the Bulls host the unbeaten Lions. Both fixtures demand fresh team news and a new assessment of the venue before any Round 2 trend becomes a betting angle.

Bafana’s changed side wins in Cairo

Puso Dithejane scored early in the second half as Bafana Bafana beat Egypt 1–0 at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday. Coach Pitso Mosimane made broad changes to his team and still found a way to win. It was the third victory of South Africa’s international window, following AFCON qualifying wins over Guinea and Eritrea.

This was a friendly, so the result added no points to the AFCON group table. Its value lies in the minutes given to more players and in a positive result away to a strong opponent. SAFA’s report on the Egypt match has the official match account; our soccer betting guide explains why match type matters when comparing form across competitions.

The win gives Mosimane selection questions in a good sense, but it does not settle them. The next competitive squad and its opponents will offer a clearer measure of how much this reshaped side can carry into qualifying football.

International football fills the Premier League gap

The Premier League’s published schedule confirms that the domestic competition resumes on Saturday 10 October. This weekend’s major European football stories came from national teams instead of English club fixtures.

England hit seven in Croatia

England beat Croatia 7–0 in the Nations League on Saturday. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka each scored twice, with Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers also on target. It was a striking national-team performance and a heavy defeat for Croatia, as set out in UEFA’s Matchday 3 review. It should be read on its own terms, rather than carried straight into predictions about those players’ clubs next weekend.

Portugal advance; Spain win again

Portugal came from behind to beat Norway 2–1 on Sunday, with Gonçalo Ramos scoring the winner, and became the first team into the Nations League quarter-finals. Spain beat ten-man Czechia 3–1 on Saturday. These were consequential results in the international competition, even as club supporters turned their attention to the Premier League’s return. UEFA’s Sunday review details Portugal’s comeback.

What comes next

The URC serves up two South African derbies on Saturday 10 October: Bulls against Lions at Loftus Versfeld and Stormers against Sharks in Cape Town. They will test how well this round’s home winners travel and how the defeated sides respond at home. The Premier League also returns that Saturday, with Liverpool against Manchester City scheduled for Sunday.

The derby teams and the Premier League’s returning internationals will become clearer closer to kick-off. The confirmed line-ups will matter more than a quick reading of last weekend’s scorelines.

The Betting Read

Two of the four South African URC teams won, and both won at home. That split is more useful than simply labelling the round good or bad: the next fixtures reverse the travel question for the Sharks and Lions. A bonus-point win against Leinster deserves attention, but it does not guarantee the same scoring pattern against the Stormers in Cape Town.

Bafana’s result in Cairo was a friendly, while their earlier wins this window were qualifiers. Keep those match contexts separate before using a three-game winning run as a single form line. England’s 7–0 score tells us about one international night, not the fitness, selection or price of an English club side after the break.

If you plan to compare markets, start with the actual fixture, competition and confirmed line-ups, then check the price for that specific bet. Our sports betting hub has the wider starting point. The cleaner editorial call is to wait for the derby teams and the Premier League restart rather than force a wager from a dramatic weekend headline.

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