‘Pretty cool,’ says All Blacks veteran Barrett about facing rising St…

Rising star Yaqeen Ahmed is being backed to go the distance in his first senior appearance for the Stormers when they take on the All Blacks in the opening match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night (kick-off 7:10pm). newssport.cv

Exciting Junior Bok talent Ahmed, fresh off helping the South African U20s to their second straight U20 World Championship title in Georgia last month, has a golden opportunity to show why he is so highly rated by Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus.

Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson has also backed the youngster to the hilt, saying during the pre-match press conference on Thursday that he hoped he would last the entire 80 minutes of the match.

The Stormers have named just two back replacements on their bench for the match, in veteran scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage and utility back Wandisile Simelane, and Dobson admitted that if they were in a pinch Duvenage would have to slot in at flyhalf.

“We wouldn’t have recruited him last year if he wasn’t on our radar. But to be honest, he has come through much faster than we thought. He played so well for the U20s,” said Dobson about Ahmed.

“One’s loath to make comparisons but he reminds me of a few years ago when Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) was coming through. That same commitment, composure and excitement. He has pleasantly surprised us and I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for him.

“Yaqeen is in for a big ride. He is going to (have to) put in a big shift, hopefully for 80 minutes. That shows the faith we have in him, he’s special.”

Barrett’s approval

Ahmed also received a vote of approval from an All Black legend, in veteran 144-cap flyhalf Beauden Barrett, who will be leading the line for the tourists in the match, saying he was looking forward to facing the youngster and was honoured that he was one of the players he looks up to.

“With him and Sacha, I guess the Stormers are in pretty good hands going forward. The success of the Junior Boks in recent times has been superb,” said Barrett.

“I certainly will be paying respect to those named (in the Stormers team) and just being aware of their trends and threats because obviously both nine and 10 are very talented, with great skill sets and running ability.

“So for most of the week we’ve been focusing on our game and Stormers’ trends in general. But now that we’ve done most of our work, so to speak, we look to have a little bit more of an individualised focus on who we’re up against.

“I feel honoured that I was once looked up to by him. As All Blacks, we’re always trying to do our best to inspire kids across the globe and not just in New Zealand.

“So, it’s pretty cool that we have a chance to go head-to-head, and I will certainly make sure that I chat to him after the game and share a cold drink with him afterwards because he’s certainly (one for) the future.”

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La phase de groupe de la 16e édition de la CAN Féminine 2026 est désormais dans le rétroviseur. Les huit meilleures nations vont s’affronter dans le cadre éliminations directes. Une phase décisive pour ces pays déterminés à aller chercher le trophée final. Dans cette bataille, le tenant du titre, le Nigéria, be cache pas ses […]

L’article CAN 2026 : voici le programme des quarts de finale est apparu en premier sur Camfoot.com.

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 7, 2026 – With a second silverware beckoning, Gor Mahia coach Charles Akonnor admits he cannot wait to get his hands on the Cecafa Club Championships title.

The Ghanaian’s says his ‘stomach’ is rumbling, but not for lack of food; his insatiable appetite can only be tamed by a fourth regional title — their first since they last won it in 1985.

Standing between them and glory are Rwandese giants Rayon Sports, who they meet in the final at the Amahoro Stadium on Friday.

Regardless, Akonnor insists the challenge posed the hosts is not enough to drain his appetite for success.

“It is very challenging and we will always have to find something, a solution to do it. I am always hungry as a coach. I never like to lose and the importance of what we do is when we see the opponents, how they play. It gives us a lot of ideas how to approach the game and we will have a way of playing,” the widely-travelled gaffer says.

It is not lost on Akonnor and K’Ogalo that the hosts have already inflicted their first defeat of the preseason — a 2-0 victory at the Kigali Pele Stadium at the end of last month.

It was a loss that stung like a snake bite, exposing the levels Gor would have to scale to dine at the high table of Africa’s creme-de-la-creme of club football.

Since then, the 22-time FKF Premier League champions have burrowed their way into the final, felling big giants such as another Rwandese side, APR — thrashing them 5-0 in their Group A opener — as well as Sudan’s Al Hilal — who they outclassed 8-7 on penalties in the semi-final.

Reminiscing their previous humbling by Rayon Sports, the former Ghana national team coach points out that the K’Ogalo machine was only just warming up — having had only four days of training in the new season.

“I remember when we played our first friendly match, we’d only had four days training, roughly a week. How we’ve managed to get here has been very wonderful. We are very proud of the boys. We are not here by fluke,” Akonnor pointed out.

Improvement or not, the gaffer will be aware of the threat posed by Friday’s opponent, particularly their discipline on and off the ball.

“They’re very disciplined defensively and it’s so difficult to break the lines with them, especially when you have the ball and you want to attack. They’ve kept that discipline throughout the tournament. Correct me if I am wrong…I think they have only conceded once the whole tournament,” he said.

Akonnor further expects Rayon to be aided by a partisan crowd at Amahoro, a fact that the tactician says may be a blessing in disguise for ‘Chuor Timbe’ (Husband of Teams).

“We have to acknowledge that they are the host side. They must have the home advantage because they have the fans around and they will always also want to impress them. It’s always difficult for you to just come and lose a game at your own turf. For us, we are motivated with that,” the gaffer added.

Good students

Even as their opponents get the best of their 12th man advantage, Akonnor is looking to his motivated and diligent group of players who he describes as good listeners and implementers of instructions.

“They are good listeners. They not just listen but they listen and implement what we ask them to do. It’s going to be challenging but I believe that if you have the luck and you’re a little bit smart, you can get good results,” he said.

The task at hand, according to the former Wolfsburg defender, is not only for the love of the Green Army but also the entire country.

With the weight of expectations of whole nation upon their shoulders, Akonnor believes this will be another motivating factor.

“We want to do our very best. We also know that, like I said the other day, we represent Kenya. we are in the heartbeat of Kenya now, irrespective of club. Now we are together as a nation and we are trying our best to make sure we get a cup and go back and make our people happy,” he said.

Easier said than done; come the referee’s whistle on Friday evening, the only result that will matter for the K’Ogalo faithful will be one in which the scoreboard reads in their favour.