IT WAS A weekend of contrasting fortunes for South African sport, with the Proteas struggling to make headway against Australia, three local rugby sides opening their European campaigns with convincing wins, and the country’s leading football clubs facing very different challenges in continental competition.

There was also domestic football action to catch up on, while the Lions took to the field in France under particularly difficult circumstances.

The Proteas had reached 20/2 in 12.2 overs when the weather intervened, leaving them with plenty of work to do after Australia’s Scott Boland struck twice in quick succession.

Boland dismissed Aiden Markram and David Bedingham with consecutive deliveries, putting the visitors firmly on top before the rain brought proceedings to a halt.

After losing the first Test by 214 runs, South Africa desperately needed a response. Instead, their second match of the series began with another early batting setback and precious little opportunity to recover.

With further rain a concern, the weather threatened to become as significant a factor as the contest between bat and ball.

By Monday afternoon, a soggy outfield still had the players waiting in the hut.

The Bulls were the standout performers, thrashing Stade Français 56–20 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Cheswill Jooste scored a hat-trick as the hosts crossed for eight tries, with Handré Pollard converting all eight.

The Stormers were equally convincing, beating Bristol Bears 49–12 in Cape Town. They scored seven tries despite spending a period with only 13 players on the field.

The Sharks produced one of the weekend’s most dramatic finishes, defeating Lyon 40–33 in France. With the match seemingly heading for a draw, Litehile Bester scored after the final hooter to secure victory for the Durban side.

The Toyota Cheetahs, however, narrowly lost 29–27 to Bayonne in the Challenge Cup after fighting back from a 22–13 half-time deficit.

For the Lions, the result against La Rochelle was secondary to the circumstances surrounding their match. The Johannesburg side lost 31–14 in France, a day after the death of lock Hyron Andrews, aged 31. 

The team elected to fulfil the fixture in his honour.

Mamelodi Sundowns, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by Angola’s Wiliete SC on Sunday. The defending CAF Champions League winners will have to find a breakthrough in the return leg to keep their campaign on track.

Kaizer Chiefs suffered the biggest setback, losing 1–0 to Zambia’s Red Arrows in the CAF Confederation Cup. Alassane Diarra scored in the 76th minute after Chiefs failed to deal with a corner, leaving Amakhosi needing to overturn the deficit in the return leg.

Haashim Domingo opened the scoring, Gastón Sirino doubled the advantage early in the second half, and Tashreeq Morris converted a stoppage-time penalty to restore the two-goal cushion after the visitors had pulled one back.

The result puts Durban City in a strong position ahead of the return fixture as they seek to progress in their first continental campaign.

Kruger United beat Chippa United 1–0, Milford FC defeated Golden Arrows by the same score, Sekhukhune United edged Marumo Gallants 2–1, and Siwelele beat Polokwane City 1–0 on Sunday.

Milford’s victory was particularly significant, extending their unbeaten league run to four matches and giving the club further momentum in the early-season standings.

With domestic competition continuing alongside the continental campaigns, South African football supporters have plenty to watch as the next round of fixtures approaches.