[imagesource: Sky Sports]

Each week, I’ll be putting together a wrap of the weekend’s sporting action, standout moments, and major talking points, with a focus on football, cricket, and rugby.

The Weekend Sports Wrap is sponsored by Hollywoodbets – register now and score a R25 sign-up bonus.

Sadly, we must bid farewell to the Easter weekend, although any self-respecting adult has an egg and hot cross bun stash that will last well through the week.

For now, though, we turn our attention to the long weekend’s standout sporting moments, starting with the famous Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge.

It was the latter that emerged triumphant in the men’s and women’s races this year, with tight finishes in both.

For the first time since 1845, the race did not take place on the Thames, with COVID-19 related precautions meaning things were relocated to the Great Ouse in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

In the 166th meeting between men, Cambridge extended their lead over Oxford to 84-81. As you can see from the package below, it was one that went to the wire.

Watch from 6:20 and you’ll see the white flag being waved as the finishing line is crossed:

The golfing world is licking its lips as the Masters is just days away, and a long-awaited PGA Tour win for Jordan Spieth has made him one of the favourites to don the Green Jacket at Augusta.

Sunday’s victory at the 2021 Valero Texas Open was the 27-year-old’s first in 1 351 days, with his final-round 66 enough to hold off a spirited challenge from Charley Hoffman.

Following the win, Spieth said “this is a monumental win for me… it’s been a long road. There were a lot of times that I didn’t know I would be here.”

The 12th win of his career, before his 28th birthday, means he joins an illustrious list. In fact, over the past 40 years, only Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Thomas have racked up at least 12 wins before the age of 28.

Here are his final round highlights:

Hollywoodbets has Spieth at 11/1 odds of winning the Masters, which might be worth a cheeky punt if you think he can carry Sunday’s form into the major.

Another man bang in form is South African tennis pro Lloyd Harris, who climbed into the world’s top 50 following a great start to 2021.

Whether he can reach the lofty heights of Kevin Anderson, who reached fifth in the world back in July of 2018 remains to be seen, but he certainly has a serve powerful enough to trouble the world’s best.

Unfortunately, 34-year-old Anderson may be winding down, and is currently ranked 108th in the world. Over his career, he has earned a combined $17,135 million in singles and doubles prize money, so he’s made his talent count.

Rugby time, and we’ll start with a local battle that always delivers drama. The Varsity Cup is up and running, and yesterday saw UCT take on Stellenbosch, or Ikeys versus Maties, as it’s more commonly known.

Ikeys edged out their opponents 26-20, snapping Maties’ 25-match unbeaten run in the Varsity Cup. There were yellow cards galore, and a final push by Maties in stoppage time, but it was not to be:

Our up and coming talent could learn a thing or two from Cheslin Kolbe, who once again showed why the general public loves him so much.

Rather than his on-field talent, it was footage of Kolbe picking up rubbish following Toulouse’s Champions Cup win over Munster that was in the news:

In great cultures, you are never too important to pick up the trash. Cheslin Kolbe, one of the worlds leading rugby players is seen here doing his bit after a game.
pic.twitter.com/raSOWcP9Fp

— Allistair McCaw (@AllistairMcCaw) April 4, 2021

Rumour has it he threw 32 pieces of rubbish into 12 separate bins.

How about this for an unusual try, coming to us via New Zealand? Harbour Hawks RFC were the beneficiaries of a lucky bounce, right off the pip of an opposition player, but they all count:

One of the most bizarre tries you will EVER see 😂 pic.twitter.com/Y1DkpVDne9

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 5, 2021

Finally, a rather epic fail from Kiwi presenter Joe Wheeler, who decided to bust out an offensive impersonation of an Asian accent during an interview with Highlanders player Mitchell Hunt.

Wheeler was referring to the Highlanders’ Japanese international Kazuki Himeno, and you can hear him say “leally, leally good’ below:

Please tell me Joe Wheeler didn’t just make a fucking awful Asian accent joke when talking about Kazuki Himeno… pic.twitter.com/OTQRihkFam

— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) April 2, 2021

Wheeler later admitted he had been a total imbecile, and Himeno accepted the apology:

It’s ok joe.
Let’s enjoy and celebrate our big victory ✌️
Let’s go landers!!

— 姫野和樹 (@teikyo_8) April 2, 2021

Lesson learnt.

Ah, football – the beautiful game.

I’ll begin this section with a miss that illustrates why Lucas Joao is playing for Reading in the Championship, rather than a side in the Premier League.

On Friday night, after being gifted an open net, Joao somehow fired wide:

You will not see a finer passage of play than this all weekend. pic.twitter.com/MQ4xrh51TR

— Football Ramble (@FootballRamble) April 2, 2021

One man who would most certainly have buried that chance is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, although his on-field prowess is tainted by the fact that he remains a total knobhead off it.

According to Swedish media outlet Expressen, Ibrahimovic, who has in the past likened himself to a lion, is accused of shooting a lion in South Africa in 2011, before importing its skin, skull, and jaw back to Sweden.

The story has also been picked up by The Daily Mail, if you want all the details and allegations. Whilst what Zlatan did is reported to have been legal, with the footballer possessing the required license, it’s just another reason for me to dislike a man who believes the sun shines out of his rear end.

The biggest upset of the English Premier League weekend saw West Brom hammer Chelsea 5-2, with the latter’s previously rock-solid defence unravelling against the side 19th in the table:

Obviously, I must mention Newcastle’s unlikely point against Spurs, although the Toon were good value for that point, and may well have walked away with all three had we buried our chances.

Still, the 2-2 draw means it’s two wins from our previous 21 matches, and whilst Fulham and Brighton also lost, we will have to win at some point to ensure safety come the end of the season.

A hearty thanks to Aston Villa and Manchester United for defeating our relegation rivals, with both coming from a goal down to claim the three points.

It’s also worth watching the West Ham – Wolves highlights from last night, if only for Jesse Lingard’s remarkable performance, which included a superb solo goal and an assist:

On this form, he probably warrants a spot in England’s European Championship squad, which is something you would never, ever have said at the turn of the year.

The biggest talking point in the cricketing world involved the Proteas, a victory over Pakistan in the so-called ‘Pink ODI’, and some quick-thinking from Quinton de Kock.

I love the guy, but you don’t say that about him all too often.

Before we delve into the controversy, here is the incident in question, with Fakhar Zaman run out for 193:

Aiden Markram deserves all the praise for a bullet of a throw from long-off, but it’s Quinton’s pointing to the bowler’s end that has caused such controversy.

Via Wisden, consider this:

Law 41.5, termed the ‘fake fielding’ law, states that “it is unfair for any fielder wilfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball”.

According to clause 41.5.2, “It is for either one of the umpires to decide whether any distraction, deception or obstruction is wilful or not.”

Rather than unpack why Quinton was within his rights to do what he did (you can head here for a great explainer), let’s hear from teammate Tabraiz Shamsi:

So it’s not funny that the batsman stopped running instead of completing the run?

Lets not take the attention away from a great innings that he played and give him credit for that

The batman’s job in that instance was to complete the run that all…

As simple as that 🙂

— Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) April 5, 2021

Shamsi will have been particularly relieved to see the Proteas hold on in the face of an extraordinary onslaught, having been dispatched to all parts by Fakhar.

Ultimately, the run-out controversy has shifted attention away from a remarkable innings, the highest-ever when batting second in an ODI, and the highest ever at the Wanderers.

A certain Herschelle Gibbs had held the Wanderers record with the most magnificent 175 you will ever see.

Here are the highlights from Sunday’s ODI:

Five of the Proteas’ star players will now depart for the IPL, meaning Temba Bavuma and his chargers will be up against it in Wednesday’s third and final ODI.

At least this means that Kyle Verreynne will finally get another chance to shine.

Before we go, for the cricket nerds out there, here is a great summary of how our finest quicks have performed since 2008:

South Africa’s most prolific test seamers by over category since 1 Jan 2008. pic.twitter.com/t04WROFmpL

— Shaun (@Shaun_Analytics) April 5, 2021

Big Vern with the new ball, KG with the old ball, or Dale Steyn whenever.

Throw Morne Morkel into the mix and you have a truly potent bowling attack, the likes of which we may not see for a while.

Hopefully, Lungi Ngidi keeps on improving, and Anrich Nortje can sustain his rich vein of form, so that we can lighten the load on Rabada.

Wednesday’s third ODI at Centurion will start at 10AM.

Throw those juicy midweek Champions League fixtures into the mix (Manchester City and Pep versus Dortmund and Haaland is so, so appetising) and you’re good to go.