Nyali’s Nduva, Rwandese Nsanzuwera share lead at Ruiru Sunshine Devel…

RUIRU, Kenya, Aug 17 – After the second round of the fifth leg of the Sunshine Development Tour – East Africa Swing, Nyali Golf Club’s Daniel Nduva and Rwanda’s Celestin Nsanzuwera took control of the Absa Ruiru Invitational tournament.

The two are tied on 5-under par overall, setting up a closely contested final round tomorrow.

Nduva, who won the Royal Nairobi Golf Club leg earlier this season, produced a composed round, carding 3-under par 67. forestarrow.rest

He made birdies on the second, ninth, 13th and 17th holes, with his only dropped shot coming on the final hole.

“It was another solid round. I managed to hit some good shots and convert a few birdie opportunities. The bogey on 18 was a bit disappointing, but overall I am happy with the way I played. I am in a good position going into tomorrow and I just need to stay patient and focus on executing my game,” Nduva said.

On his part, Nsanzuwera, who started the day tied for fifth on 1-under par, also produced a near-flawless round of 4-under par 66, featuring five birdies on the third, fourth, ninth, 12th and 16th holes. His only blemish came on the 14th hole.

“It was a very good round for me. I stayed patient and managed to take advantage of the opportunities I got. The birdies gave me good momentum and I was able to keep my focus throughout the round. I am happy with where I am going into the final round and will just try to play my game and see what happens,” Nsanzuwera stated.

Taking third position on 4-under par overall is Nyali professional Samuel Njoroge Chege, the winner of the Absa Invitational at Nyali last month.

Chege carded a 3-under par 67 despite an early setback, dropping shots on the fourth and fifth holes before recovering strongly with birdies eighth, 12th, 13th and 14th holes, adding to an earlier birdie on the second.

“I had a difficult start and the two early bogeys could easily have affected my round, but I managed to settle down and get myself back into it. The birdies in the middle of the round gave me the momentum I needed. I am happy to be in contention again and looking forward to tomorrow,” Chege underscored.

Mike Kisia of VetLab Sports Club occupies fourth position on 3-under par overall after carding an impressive 4-under par 66 to recover from his opening-round 1-over par.

A three-way tie for fifth position on 2-under par features John Karichu of Limuru Country Club, David Wakhu of Golf Park and Nigeria’s Godwin Okoko.

Following the second round, the top 30 players and ties will proceed to the final round on Tuesday, with a Sh2 million prize purse up for grabs. The winner will take home Sh400,000.

With Thapelo Maseko’s move to Danish giants FC Copenhagen all but sealed, Phakaaathi understands that the Bafana Bafana winger had already made up his mind about returning to Europe.

Chiefs interest but not from Maseko

Despite interest from local clubs, including Kaizer Chiefs and Stellenbosch FC, a move back to the Betway Premiership was never seriously considered by the 22-year-old.

Maseko previously worked with Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt at SuperSport United, where he made his breakthrough before moving to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Sources at Sundowns have indicated that Maseko’s priority was always to continue his career abroad, after rediscovering his form during a loan spell at Cypriot side AEL Limassol last season.

His performances in Cyprus earned him a recall to the Bafana squad and he went on to make a big impact at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Maseko scored the winning goal in South Africa’s 1-0 victory over South Korea as Bafana reached the last 32 for the first time. His World Cup showing further strengthened his desire to remain in Europe, with several clubs reportedly showing interest in his services.

Copenhagen win race

Limassol were among those keen to keep him, but Copenhagen eventually won the race for his signature. Although Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso was open to having Maseko back in his squad, the speedy attacker was determined to pursue another opportunity in Europe.

With Copenhagen now closing in on his signature, Maseko appears set to begin the next chapter of his career in Denmark.

Steve Hansen claims Richie Mo’unga’s return to the All Blacks set-up isn’t about him challenging for the No 10 jersey, with Ruben Love playing well enough to retain his spot.

Mo’unga was called into New Zealand’s touring squad last week as a replacement for the injured Billy Proctor.

Hansen believes there is no pressure for the veteran playmaker to feature during the remainder of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, with time spent learning the lay of the land under head coach Dave Rennie equally important.

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“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play, I don’t think,” Hansen was quoted by Newstalk ZB. “I think what matters is that he has the time with the group and the new coaches, the new systems, and he benefits then when he does get to play; so he’s got an understanding and he’s up to speed.

“So yeah, that’s obviously the reason why they’ve taken him, and I think it’s smart play.”

The former All Blacks boss also pointed to Beauden Barrett’s influence despite limited Test involvement early in Rennie’s tenure. The two-time World Player of the Year has started at flyhalf and fullback so far on the South African trip.

“He’ll bring a lot to the discussion because he’s a smart player and he’s an experienced player,” Hansen added. “We saw Beauden not play a big part in the first three Test matches, but he was huge for the team.”

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The 25-year-old Love has impressed in Mo’unga’s absence, winning all three of his Test starts in 2026.

“Love is still learning to be the player that he wants to be; he’s playing well,” Hansen noted.

“[Damian] McKenzie’s playing well, so we’ve just got to sit back and see what he does bring.”

The first of four Tests in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series kicks off at Ellis Park on Saturday, with the All Blacks coming off a huge win against the Vodacom Bulls while the Springboks’ last outing was a narrow win in Argentina two weeks ago.

Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images

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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says World Rugby’s new match-official communication protocols are forcing teams to voice their concerns in the media. SIMON BORCHARDT reports.

Under the protocols, head coaches can only meet with a referee before a Test if both coaches accept the invitation and attend the meeting together. Post-match, coaches are limited to submitting six video clips for clarification on a central system, with those submissions visible to other international coaches and match officials.

Erasmus questioned the system last month, saying it had created a communication gap between coaches and referees.

That issue has again come to the fore during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, with the All Blacks using the media to push the narrative that South African teams – including the Springboks – look to slow the game down in an attempt to negate New Zealand’s high-tempo approach.

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Speaking ahead of Saturday’s first Test at Ellis Park, which will be refereed by Englishman Matthew Carley, Erasmus said he understood why concerns were now increasingly being aired publicly rather than directly with match officials.

“I think there’s definitely frustration from the coaches that you can’t have meetings with the referee if both teams don’t agree,” he said. “It’s now at a stage where you almost accept both teams’ coaches aren’t always going to agree to a pre-match meeting.

“I myself this week said, ‘No, no, we don’t need one,’ because it doesn’t help now, after they’ve played four games, and now we want to sort out things in three training sessions.

“We had to look at what they put on AMS [Athlete Management System] – that’s a central system – and then sort of learn from what the answers are from World Rugby.

“I don’t think it’s a tactic. I think it’s an obvious thing: if you want to get something out, you have to get it out here [in a press conference] because you can’t really talk to the referee sometimes.”

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Erasmus said the restrictions also make it difficult for coaches to alert referees to specific tactical aspects of their game plan that could affect how an incident is interpreted.

“There are small things which, in normal referee meetings, you alert them to: ‘Listen, we might do a midfield maul, just be aware of that, know the law around that.’

“Now you can’t, because you have to have the meeting with the other coach. You can’t say, ‘Listen, we may be doing a front peel in the lineout, maybe don’t stand there when we do the front peel because you might not see if it’s obstruction or not.’

“So I think teeing up the referees with things you want to do is very difficult, and I totally understand why the All Blacks voice some of their concerns.

“If they genuinely believe we slow down the game, they can’t say it in a meeting with us being present and we’re arguing with them, ‘We’re not slowing it down.’

“So it’s a very natural thing to do it in the media now because of the protocols.”

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Erasmus remains unconvinced by the reasoning behind them.

“I feel – and I know a lot of international coaches feel that way – it’s very clear what you must do and what you can’t do. It’s in place and we understand that it’s there. I don’t understand why it’s like that.

“But, yes, I think there’s definitely now a gap between coaches, scrum coaches and referees on small little tactical things, and then you voice your opinion in the media. That’s the only option.”

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Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

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