Blast from the past: Bafana roar against Indomitable Lions, swoop to draw with Super Eagles

Today in SA sports history: November 19

1993 — Richard Snell takes 4/12 as the Proteas smash Sri Lanka by 78 runs in a Hero Cup ODI in Guwahati. Skipper Kepler Wessels scored 53 as SA posted 214/7. 

1994 — Scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen scores two tries as the Springboks trounce Scotland 34-10 at Murrayfield. Eighthman Rudolf Straeuli, centre Japie Mulder and wing Chester Williams also dotted down, with fullback Andre Joubert converting three tries and adding a penalty.

2000 — Two Springbok players are yellow-carded but SA still beat Ireland 28-18 at Lansdowne Road. Scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen and flankers Corne Krige and Andre Venter scored tries, with flyhalf Percy Montgomery and Braam van Straaten sharing the kicking duties, landing two conversions and three penalties between them.

2000 — Fast bowler Allan Donald becomes the first South African to take 300 Test wickets when he traps Shayne O’Connor leg before on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in his home city of Bloemfontein. Donald took six wickets in all in the match, which SA won by five wickets. It took him 63 Tests to reach the milestone, the same as Australian spinner Shane Warne and nearly two decades later it remains the second-fastest by a South African, after Dale Steyn.

2002 — The Proteas survive an early scare to beat Sri Lanka by three wickets while chasing down a target of 121 runs in the second and final Test at Centurion. Shaun Pollock had scored 99 not out which had helped SA to a first-innings lead of 125. Neil McKenzie’s 39 was the highest score in SA’s second innings. The home team won the series 2-0.

2002 — Bafana Bafana play to a 1-1 draw against Senegal in the Nelson Mandela Challenge at Ellis Park, but then get drilled 1-4 on penalties. Shaun Bartlett gave SA the lead in the second half, but Mamadou Niang equalised quickly. Lesley Manyathela scored SA’s only penalty in the shoot-out, with Sibusiso Zuma and Lucky Maselesele missing their spot kicks.

2003 — Reduced to nine men, Bafana Bafana are beaten 0-2 by Tunisia in a friendly in Tunis. Defenders Saul Molapo and Tony Coyle were sent off within seven minutes of each other. 

2005 — Winger Bryan Habana scores two tries as the Springboks beat Wales 33-16 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Winger Conrad Jantjes and substitute lock Danie Rossouw also dotted down, with flyhalf Meyer Bosman converting two and fullback Percy Montgomery kicking three penalties before he was red-carded.

2005 — Andrew Hall’s 32 is SA’s highest score in a knock of 169/9 as the Proteas lose to India by six wickets in the second ODI in Bengaluru. The home team levelled the five-match series at 1-1.

2008 — Bernard Parker scores in the 82nd minute to give Bafana Bafana a thrilling 3-2 victory over Cameroon in a friendly in Rustenburg. Teko Modise had netted the first two goals for SA before the Indomitable Lions struck back through Ngom Kome and Tehoi Somen before half time.

2011 — Frans Botha takes on American Michael Grant for the marginal WBF's vacant heavyweight title at Monte Casino in Johannesburg. Both were second-round knockout victims of former undisputed champion Lennox Lewis, and they threatened to go the distance against each other until Grant stopped Botha in the final 12th round.

2014 — Striker Tokelo Rantie scores twice as Bafana Bafana take a 2-0 lead over Nigeria in an African Nations Cup qualifier at Akwa Ibom Stadium in Uyo, but SA had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Super Eagles substitute Aluko Omatsone scored both goals for the home side, netting the equaliser in stoppage time.

2014 — Hashim Amla (102) and AB de Villiers (52 off 34 balls) deliver the bulk of the Proteas firepower, but SA lose the third ODI against Australia in Canberra by 73 runs. Quinton de Kock, with 47, was the only other visiting batsman to get going in the chase of the 330-run target. The win gave Australia a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

2016 — The Springboks suffer their first-ever defeat to Italy, going down 18-20 in Florence. Bryan Habana and Damian de Allende scored tries for SA. With the hosts also scoring two tries and both teams landing two penalties, the difference was that Italian flyhalf Carlo Canna converted both Italy’s tries. SA managed one conversion.