June 13 (Reuters) – The International Rugby Board (IRB) is to try out a new “crouch, touch, set” scrum engagement sequence next season in a bid to ease a problem area of the sport. The trial sequence will feature the front rows crouching before the props use one arm to touch the shoulder of their [...]

By Ken Borland JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) – Pat Lambie returns at fullback while prop Werner Kruger and wing Bjorn Basson come on to the bench in the only changes to South Africa’s side for the second test against England, coach Heyneke Meyer announced on Wednesday. Lambie, who came on for the second half of [...]

CAPE TOWN, June 13 (Reuters) – A planned 100 million rand ($12 million) fund from Wal-Mart and Massmart to help South African suppliers source more goods locally should be increased to at least 500 million rand, a regulator-affiliated panel said. The majority decision released this week from an expert panel advising the Competition Appeal Court [...]

JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) – Promising wing Christian Wade scored a hat-trick of tries as England beat the Southern Barbarians 54-26 on Wednesday. The 21-year-old London Wasps player showed tremendous pace and finishing ability in scoring well-taken tries in the 20th, 63rd and 81st minutes. England’s other tries were scored by number eight Thomas Waldrom [...]

* Top-40 rises 0.5 percent to 30,050.04 * Retailers weaker after sales figures JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) – South African shares rose slightly on Wednesday with investors returning to major platinum miner Impala Platinum, seen as relatively cheap after being beaten down for weeks due to the fall in the spot price of the precious [...]

By Jacqueline Cowhig LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) – South Africa exported 4.6 million tonnes of thermal coal in May with Asia including India taking 3.6 million tonnes and the rest going to Atlantic markets, exporters said. India imported 1.4 million tonnes of coal from South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), down from 1.6 million [...]

WELLINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) – All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been forced to make just one change to his starting side for New Zealand’s second test against Ireland in Christchurch on Saturday (0735 GMT), keeping faith with the squad that dismantled the tourists a week ago. Loose forward Victor Vito, who started in the [...]

CAPE TOWN, June 13 (Reuters) – English premier league club Manchester United will play two matches against local opposition in South Africa next month as part of their pre-season preparations, organisers said on Wednesday. They will take on AmaZulu on July 18 at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium and Ajax Cape Town at the Cape Town [...]

* Retail sales plunge in April, off high base * Bonds boosted by weak data but long end pressured * Rand turns firmer as euro hits session high vs dollar JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) – Yields on South African government bonds were down as bonds benefited from soft retail data on Wednesday with the three-year [...]

DOHA, June 13 (Reuters) – An electrical fault caused a deadly fire at a shopping mall in Qatar last month that killed 19 people, most of them children, state news agency QNA cited investigators on Wednesday as saying. The blaze, which began in a sporting goods store in Doha’s Villagio Mall, was “due to faulty [...]