The Springboks led Argentina 26-6 at the half-time break in their opening Rugby Championship match at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Referee Chris Pollock awarded a penalty try 10 minutes before the break after Argentine hooker Eusebio Guinazo deliberately knocked an Adriaan Strauss pass down metres from the tryline. Guinazo also received a yellow card for his indiscretion.
Three minutes later JJ Engelbrecht went over for the second try of the match, with flyhalf Morne Steyn converting.
Steyn converted four penalties, while Argentina flyhalf Felipe Contepomi converted two of his attempts at goal. – Sapa
South Africa’s national team will have an outline image of Nelson Mandela on a sleeve of their shirts when they tackle Argentina Saturday in the Rugby Championship.
A Springboks spokesman said a logo that included the image would be worn by each player, and captain Jean de Villiers vowed his team would triumph to “make Madiba smile”.
Most South Africans call Mandela, a long-time political prisoner who in 1994 became the first democratically elected president of the republic, by his clan name Madiba.
“We are ready to play for Madiba and to bring a smile to his face by defeating Argentina,” centre De Villiers, 32, said after a warm-up session at the match venue.
“Every game you play for the Springboks is special and if you add to that playing for Madiba as well, then suddenly the occasion just becomes massive.
“This is an occasion to celebrate the life of a fantastic man and of a person who has given so much to rugby, to sport, and to the country,” said 87-cap De Villiers.
It is the first time an outline image of a person will appear on the green and gold shirt, which traditionally carries a sponsor logo, the national sport emblem, and a leaping Springbok.
The match is part of a historic day of sport at the 94,000-seat Soccer City stadium in Soweto that also features a friendly match between the national soccer team and Burkina Faso.
Branded the ‘Nelson Mandela Sport and Culture Day’, the event includes a football match between former South African and Italian stars and a music concert.
International icon Mandela turned 95 during July in a Pretoria hospital, where he has spent more than two months after being admitted for a recurring lung infection.
The latest official bulletin on his condition said Mandela remained “critically ill”, but doctors added that the former president “is making a slow but steady improvement”.
While president, Mandela had a huge influence on rugby and football, inspiring the Springboks to win the 1995 World Cup and Bafana Bafana (The Boys) to win the Africa Cup of Nations a year later.
A government brainchild, the Sport Day stages two football matches before the pitch markings are changed and the goals give way to posts during a 90-minute pre-Test break.
“We have practiced the changes several times and are confident they will be done quickly,” said a Soccer City management spokesman.
The organisers, who say they sold 50,000 tickets by Friday, believe it is the first time national football and rugby teams have played in the same stadium on the same day.
Tickets range between $22 (16.50 euros) and $50 and with the cheapest $18 more expensive than for local football fixtures, there is concern that more affluent rugby supporters may dominate the crowd.
While the Springboks lost two previous Tests at the Soweto ground — to the New Zealand All Blacks in 2010 and 2012 — they are favoured to make it 15 wins in 16 outings against the Pumas.
But there is less optimism about Bafana Bafana, who were outplayed by African champions Nigeria two days ago and lucky to lose only 2-0 in Durban. – AFP
In a renewed bid to bring black players into a mostly white sport, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) will introduce a stricter racial quota system in domestic rugby.
As from next year, Vodacom Cup teams will have to field seven players of colour in their 22-man squad. According to a Sport24 report, at least five of these players will have to start the match. At least two of the seven quota players will have to be forwards.
Saru chief Oregan Hoskins is hoping that the new quota system will see more black players coming through the system and playing at the top levels of Currie Cup, Super Rugby and in Tests.
“The feeling within our organisation is that we had to step in to see more black players come through. The provinces also shared our views,” Hoskins was quoted as saying by Sport24.
“To have certain targets will show that SARU is committed towards transformation. The Vodacom Cup is of critical importance to development and it has moved away from its primary aim to provide opportunities to promising young players, especially those of colour.
“The aim is to enlarge the pool of players of colour from which Currie Cup and Super Rugby coaches can pick. Hopefully, it would then also give the Springbok coach more options,” the Saru chief said.
The Free State Cheetahs got their Absa Currie Cup campaign off to a good start when they narrowly beat the Golden Lions 30-29 at Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday.
They return home with maximum points after outscoring their opponents by four tires to three. After conceding an early penalty, the Cheetahs scored the first try of match through centre Robert Ebershon. The visitors, who had several Super Rugby players in their starting line-up, appeared to be the more polished side as they put the Lions under pressure. They were rewarded when Boom Prinsloo went over for a typical forward’s try to give his side a 13-6 lead.
The Lions have some good runners in their side as well…. one of them is centre Stokkies Hanekom, who scored their first try. The Cheetahs, who were trailing 16-13 at half time, only had themselves to blame as they squandered several scoring opportunities. Although the second half was rather scrappy at times, the Cheetahs enjoyed territorial advantage early on.
They regained the lead through a Sarel Pretorious try, before Johan Sadie gave them the bonus point try. The introduction of Elton Jantjies gave the Lions a new lease on life. They scored two tries in the last quarter, but fell short by a point as the Cheetahs won the first round of the cat fight. – SABC
They may not return with an abundance of medals, but the 26 South African athletes competing in the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, starting Saturday, may well provide some light and inspiration to counter the months of boardroom battles which threatened to disrupt their participation.
In the absence of Caster Semenya, who failed to qualify for the women’s 800m event, US-based student Anaso Jobodwana could grab the South African limelight.
The 100m and 200m sprinter was a surprise finalist in the 200m at the London Olympics, and with Yohan Blake, injured, and both Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell banned for doping, Jobodwana hoped to take it a stage further.
“The main thing is to improve on my times. All I am interested in is getting a personal best in both of my events,” Jobodwana said in Moscow on Thursday.
“Then, at the right times, everything else will happen.”
Given the limited field of 200m contenders, a case could be made for Jobodwana to skip the 100m event — where his best of 10.10 seconds would most likely not be good enough to make the final — in order to focus on the 200m.
“I was told that I needed to run the semi-final in London as though it was the final,” said the 20-year-old.
“I wish I had been more prepared for that, because running the semi took a lot out of me.”
Either way, he could become South Africa’s most successful sprinter in the 200m and, as one of the youngest on the team, he could provide the inspiration for others to make their mark.
Javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen was the best of the medal hopes with her 69.35m throw in New York last year.
After coming second to Barbora Spotakova’s 69.55 at the London Olympics, she had yet to show the same form this year but Viljoen was certainly capable adding to her championship glory.
The same was true of Olympic and World silver medal long jumper Khotso Mokoena. The senior team member had failed to hit form over the past two seasons, and sat a lowly tenth on the ranking lists, but sixth best for the current year.
Zarck Visser joined Mokoena and could benefit from his experience, but the SA champion had not expanded on the potential shown by his 8.29m qualifying leap in Stellenbosch.
Similarly Lynique Prinsloo, should make the women’s long jump final, but would need to be back to her 6.81m best which secured her the SA title.
If Jobodwana, Visser and Prinsloo were the best of the young pretenders, then Mokoena, hammer thrower Chris Harmse, 41-year-old marathoner Hendrick Ramaala and 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl were the old guard.
Van Zyl would be competing in his fifth world championship, with his best showing in 2011 when he won the bronze medal in Daegu.
Having failed to break 49 seconds since then, the 28 year-old knew he had to hold his pace to the line.
“Its going to take a 48.50-something to be sure of a final (spot),” said Van Zyl.
He could be handing the mantle, as the leading South African hurdler, to Cornel Fredericks, who clocked 48.78 in the South African championships in April and was fifth on debut in Daegu. – Sapa
Province coaches: Allister Coetzee, Robbie Fleck, Matthew Proudfoot
The new process of engagement will put the scrums firmly in the spotlight when the Currie Cup competition kicks off this weekend.
The IRB changed the sequence from ‘crouch-touch-set’ to ‘crouch-bind-set’. Props will now be required to pre-bind before the “hit”.
It doesn’t sound like much of a change, but Western Province forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot said it has been one of the main focus points of their build-up to the start of the competition.
The Currie Cup will also be the first high-profile competition to use the new sequence ahead of the new law’s introduction to Tests in the forthcoming Rugby Championship.
It is hoped that the new sequence will ensure the hit will be less powerful, that scrumming will be safer and more orderly – without removing the need for strong, skilled props in the game.
In addition referees have been instructed to police more accurately the putting of the ball into the scrum.
Proudfoot, speaking to Rugby365 ahead of the big north-south derby between WP and the Blue Bulls at Newlands on Saturday, admitted there is a certain amount of “apprehension” ahead of their first encounter with the new engagement sequence.
His remarks come in the wake of suggestions that South African props will need to “learn to scrum””[Springbok coach] Heyneke [Meyer] expressed that in the press and the apprehension about it, starting a Test match that way.
“We feel similar and I am sure the Bulls will feel similar.
“No matter how much prep time you do on the field, or live scrummaging practice – and we’ve done two sessions of live scrummaging [in training] – it is not quite game related. It is not quite a real game.”
Proudfoot admitted there is a level of apprehension and how it is going to work.
“Our whole focus has just been on the execution – making sure that we can execute and apply what the referee wants us to apply.
“The team that does that can then start developing a bit of dominance. If you can’t get your execution right you can put yourself in a bad situation. That has what we have been focussed on and what our whole mental message has been about the scrum for this week.”
Asked if he felt the new sequence will make for a better or more even contests in the scrums, the WP forwards coach said it is too early to tell. – Rugby 365
Former Springbok midfielder Waylon Murray has signed a two-year contract with the Bulls, the Pretoria-based franchise announced on Tuesday.
“We have just received the clearance, so can now officially announce the signing,” said Bulls high performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg.
“Waylon is a highly-rated player with heaps of experience, especially at Super Rugby and Currie Cup level. He will add experience to our back division as well as a cool head.”
Clearance was received from Murray’s Super Rugby franchise, the Southern Kings, and the 27-year-old could be considered for selection ahead of Saturday’s Currie Cup opener against Western Province in Cape Town.
Bees Roux will soon join the Golden Lions rugby team, while the family of the black metro policeman he had killed in Pretoria, Johannes Nshimane Mogale, had “forgiven him unconditionally”.
In 2010 the rugby player beat the 38-year old sergeant to death in Hatfield and the following year he received a suspended sentence of 5 years in prison. Among the conditions of his plea bargain was as payment of R750 000 in compensation to the Mogale family.
Lions coach Johann Ackermann confirmed on Monday that Roux (31) would most likely be included as prop in the team during the coming Currie Cup season. According to Manie Booysen, the chief executive of the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU), there was “technically no impediment to choosing Bees. It will be a pity if people saw his involvement in the wrong light. The chap has shown remorse.”
“We are selecting him for rugby and no other reason. He is a prop that is available coming back from abroad,” Ackermann said.
“We are in a tight spot as there are no other players that are not under contract, so we’ll pull him into the group and see how he goes.”
The Lions coach said letters in which the Mogale family offered their forgiveness to Roux had made the decision easier to look at the player.
“We have two letters dating to 2011 and 2013 where the parents and the family personally give their blessing to him to play rugby and they even want him to play for South Africa,” Ackermann said.
“This gave us somewhat of a positive outlook because they (the family) are willing to forgive and forget and to give him a second chance in life.”
A month after he pleaded guilty the Blue Bulls Rugby Union sacked Roux for breach of contract and he later took up a contract with French club the Bordeaux Eagles.
In 2012 he joined Italian team Treviso until the end of the European season this year, while he also featured in the South African Barbarians team in a match against Saracens in May.
Fresh off securing their place in the 2014 Super Rugby competition through a superior points difference to the Southern Kings in their two leg promotion-relegation matches, the Lions are facing a crisis at prop.
Captain JC Janse van Rensburg, who was the main anchor in the front row for the Lions has left the team for Bayonne in France, while Julian Redelinghuys suffered a long-term injury over the weekend.
“We are looking to borrow another prop from somewhere as we actually only have three fit props in Ruan Dreyer, Jacques van Rooyen and CJ van der Linde,” Ackermann said. – Sapa and praag
The Springboks gathered on Monday for a training camp ahead of the Rugby Championship.
Coach Heyneke Meyer’s squad of 30 players are preparing for their opening game against Argentina at FNB Stadium next Saturday.
The squad includes a number of overseas-based players with Fourie du Preez the surprise selection.
Meyer explained that he has no hard and fast policy on selecting overseas-based players.
SARU has given the Bok coach the go-ahead to pick them, and so this group of 30 includes players from France, Japan as well as Great Britain and Ireland.
Besides for the surprise inclusion of Du Preez and perhaps Gurthro Steenkamp, the bulk of the squad has remained unchanged from the June internationals.
Meyer is looking to build on the small gains made during the June Tests.
The Boks were far from convincing against Italy, Scotland and Samoa so there is plenty to work on during this training camp.
New Zealand, Australia and their first opponents in the Rugby Championship, Argentina, will be far tougher opponents. – eNCA
The Lions have clawed their way back into Super Rugby despite going down 23-18 to the Southern Kings in their second leg promotion-relegation match at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Coach Johan Ackermann said they are keen to retain the services of flyhalf Elton Jantjies and lock Franco van der Merwe.
“We’re going straight into negotiations with senior players this week.
“We couldn’t commit to the players until we knew the outcome of these two games against the Kings.
“We had a plan B in place in case we didn’t earn promotion, which was to focus on… our junior structures, but now we can start speaking to players such as Franco van der Merwe and Elton Jantjies.
“Obviously their agents have been negotiating with other unions, so we need to move quickly if we want to retain their services.
“The floor for negotiation is now open, and in Elton’s case it’s up to him to decide where he wants to play, said Ackermann.
Jantjies was loaned to the Stormers while Van der Merwe spent time at the Sharks during this year’s Super Rugby competition.
Regarding Saturday’s match, the Kings needed to win by more than eight points to remain in Super Rugby, but did not have enough firing power to get themselves over the final hurdle.
It was billed as one of the matches of the season, however, the first half did not live up to the hype as handling errors were the order of the day which added to an uneventful half of rugby.
While the Kings went into the match as overwhelming underdogs following last weekend’s defeat in the Port Elizabeth, they came out firing.
The visitors drew the first blood 11 minutes after the start of the match with Scott van Breda succeeding with a penalty conversion.
Van Breda extended their lead three minutes later to give the team a good cushion early on in the game, but missed the opportunity to take another three points on the 20 minute mark.
While Van Breda had some success with his place kicking, Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies had some trouble with his aim at the posts.
Jantjies missed three of his attempts at goal, which ultimately did not have a major influence on the game.
The flyhalf’s ball distribution was nevertheless crisp as he put the backline on the front foot.
The Lions had their first opportunity to diminish the Kings’ lead in the 23rd minute, but Jantjies’ kick dropped short of the cross-bar.
Seven minutes later he was on target to bring his side within three points of the coastal side.
The hosts then took the lead for the first time in the match, five minutes from the half-time whistle, when Derick Minnie scored from a driving maul from a lineout, with Jantjies missing the conversion.
The Kings, however, had the last say in the match as Van Breda slotted over a penalty a minute from the break to give them a slender one-point lead.
After the break the Lions wrested the lead back again through a penalty conversion (11-9).
The Lions continued to grow in confidence and scored their second try of the match when Jaco Kriel found his way over the whitewash, with Jantjies converting for a nine-point lead.
The home side’s fortunes, however, started to turn when centre Stokkies Hanekom was yellow-carded for a tip tackle in the 67th minute.
A minute later the Kings prop Schalk Ferreira forced his way over the line, with Van Breda converting for a two-point deficit.
With seven minutes left on the clock the Kings scored again with Van Breda touching down in the corner and converting his own try for a five-point lead.
It, however, proved to be a bitter-sweet victory for the Kings as they needed to win by eight points to remain in Super Rugby.
As referee Stuart Berry signaled the end of the match Ellis Park erupted with Queen’s We are the Champions echoing through the stadium.
Scorers: Lions 18 (8): Tries: Derick Minnie, Jaco Kriel. Conversions: Elton Jantjies.Penalties: Jantjies (2) Southern Kings 23 (9): Tries: Schalk Ferreira, Scott van Breda. Conversion: Van Breda (2). Penalties: Van Breda (3). – Sapa and Praag
Alan Solomons, rugby director of the Southern Kings
Outgoing Southern Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons went out in a blaze of glory following his franchise’s relegation from Super Rugby on Saturday, despite a 23-18 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park.
“I think it is an absolute disgrace that we are not in Super Rugby and if we are interested in truly transforming this game the Eastern Cape has to be there,” Solomons said.
“We need some leadership here and leadership has got to decide what they want to do about South African rugby. Do they want to move it on or do we want to stay where we were prior to 1994?”
The Kings lost the first leg of the promotion-relegation matches in Port Elizabeth and needed to win by eight points on Saturday to maintain the status quo.
Instead, there were scenes of celebrations in Doornfontein as the Lions clawed their way back from the Super Rugby wilderness.
“I look at it from our franchise’s point of view and we’ve had a fantastic debut season,” Solomons said.
“We got the rough end of refereeing decisions in the first match and it cost us our Super Rugby status. To say the least it is unsatisfactory.”
While Lions coach Johan Ackermann was overjoyed with their new-found Super Rugby status, he conceded that it was a flawed process.
“It should have been better dealt with and there could have been a better solution,” Ackermann said.
“Tonight there is no winner: We win, so we are all smiles and they lose, so all the work they’ve done there, will be on hold now.
“From a South African perspective, if I was Heyneke Meyer and I had six franchises to choose from, I would be smiling.”
Solomons said their relegation was not only a setback for rugby in the Eastern Cape but for the sport as a whole.
“The Kings have got to do everything in their power to keep things going, the South African Rugby Union have to ensure that we are in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup at the very least,” Solomons said.
Ackermann was sympathetic to the Kings’ cause as their relegation had consequences in many facets of their structures.
“There are many changes that happen — you plan to sign coaches for your Super Rugby, your Vodacom Cup and your Under-20s — then suddenly things change and you have to adapt,” he said.
“There are many implications…I honestly can’t say how you find a solution for it now.”
He said the Lions were now in the same situation as the Kings were in a year ago where they had little time to assemble a squad for next year’s Super Rugby competition.
“We couldn’t commit to a Super squad until we knew the results after these two games,” Ackermann said.
“We worked on a plan B where the focus was on youngsters and now we can start looking at Franco van der Merwe, Elton Jantjies and all those high-profile players.”
Cameron van der Burgh and team-mate Giulio Zorzi have qualified for the men’s 50m breaststroke final at the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona.
Van der Burgh led the qualifiers into Wednesday’s final with a time of 26.81 seconds. Zorzi managed 27.44, keeping out Brazilian Felipe Lima, who won bronze in the 100m breaststroke.
The 25-year-old Van der Burgh was happy that two South African swimmers advanced to the final. “I’m very happy for Giulio who is swimming at his first world championships and I wish him well,” Van der Burgh said.
“I’ll pass on my experiences to help him pull through for tomorrow. Tomorrow anything can happen from any lane.”
Van der Burgh, who won the silver medal in the 100m breaststroke on Monday, said he was better equipped for the 50m breaststroke event.
“Sometimes you focus too much on the world record or a gold medal and then it doesn’t happen. I’ll just focus on what I can control which is the swim. The 50m is better suited to the skills I have and the training I have done.”
Zorzi, who would be swimming in his first final at a major championship, said he was happy with his performance.
“I felt really good in the warm-up and had a great start, but in the race there were one or two things that didn’t go well and I’ll correct them for tomorrow,” he said. – Sapa
A last minute try by Brumbies centre Tevita Kuridrani and a number of dubious decisions saw the Bulls go down 26-23 in their Super Rugby semi-final at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
The battle among the forwards was always going to be the deciding factor in the match, with the tourists enjoying the upper-hand in this department for most of the match.
The first 10 minutes belonged to the Brumbies as they put 10 points on the board in this period to leave the Bulls reeling.
The Australians fired the opening salvo as inside centre Christian Leali’ifano succeeding with a penalty three minutes into the match.
The visitors further showed their intent to dominate the set phases as they out-muscled the Bulls in the first scrum of the match in the fifth minute, enforcing a penalty from a kickable position.
Leali’ifano pulled his penalty attempt to the right that would have given his team a psychological six-point lead early in the match.
The missed opportunity, however, came at a small price as they found their way over the whitewash three minutes later to score the first try of the evening.
Danger man Henry Speight lived up to his reputation as playmaker and showed up the Bulls’ defence.
When he was finally chased down, he managed to offload to fullback Jesse Mogg to score the try, with Leali’ifano converting, to extend their lead to 10 points.
The Bulls’ plight was further complicated with Steyn missing his first attempt at goal in the 14th minute.
Two minutes later the Bulls reduced the deficit when outside centre JJ Engelbrecht powered his way over the tryline, with Steyn’s attempt going wide of the posts.
The Bulls flyhalf finally found the target in the 22nd minute to bring his side within two points of the Brumbies.
However, the visitors pulled back another three points with Leali’ifano succeeding with his attempt, while the Bulls responded with three points of their own 10 minutes from the half-time break.
Leali’ifano had the final say in the first half with Leali’ifano bringing an end to the tit-for-tat kicking to hand his side a five-point lead going into the break.
The Bulls started the second period with great intent and came painstakingly close to scoring shortly after the kickoff with Grant Hattingh being held up over the line.
Steyn, however, gathered the three points through a penalty conversion to again get his side within two points of the Brumbies.
The Bulls flyhalf and Leali’ifano continued to exchange kicking duties two more times until the hosts took the lead for the first time in the match in the 51st minute when Steyn landed his sixth penalty of the game.
The plot, however, reached farcical levels as Bulls captain Dewald Potgieter opted to go for the sideline rather than going for the points on three occasions.
All three times the Bulls failed in their attempt to score from the lineout and it ultimately backfired for the Pretoria side.
Potgieter’s earlier doubtful decisions, however, came back to haunt him as Brumbies outside centre Tevita Kuridrani crossed the whitewash to silence the Loftus faithful, with Leali’ifano ending the match as he started it, with a conversion.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position for the fourth time this season after setting the fastest time in qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Briton beat three-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel right at the end of the session.
“I’m really surprised,” said Hamilton, who is looking for his first race win of the season. “We’ve got a steep hill to climb tomorrow with these tires and these conditions.”
Hamilton clocked 1 minute, 19.388 seconds, just ahead of Vettel’s best lap of 1:19.426.
“There wasn’t much missing. Lewis did a really good job,” said Vettel, who has never won in Hungary. “It’s stupid to sit here and say ‘We should have done this and we should have done that.’ I could be on pole, but still I think it puts us in a great place for tomorrow.”
Vettel, the defending champion, remains confident however that he can follow up his success at the German GP three weeks ago and clinch his fifth win of the campaign.
“We should have a good race because the car feels fine,” said Vettel, who has 39 career poles compared to 30 for Hamilton.
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who was fastest in the final practice session, qualified third in 1:19.595 for his best grid position of the season.
Red Bull and Mercedes have combined to take all 10 poles this season -with Vettel getting all three for Red Bull. But Mercedes has a low conversion rate from the front of the grid.
“Pole definitely helps, of course, because it’s very difficult to follow here, but it is a long way down to turn one,” Hamilton said. “If you can hold pole into turn one then it will be advantageous, but as always the race is going to be about the tires and trying to hold on to them.”
Nico Rosberg has won two races, while Hamilton is still looking to finish higher than third in a Mercedes that has great speed but lacks durability over a whole race.
“It’s been the same for a long time. It’s not a surprise for us,” Hamilton said. “It’s great to have the pole position but it doesn’t mean anything, it’s in the race where we score points.”
Hamilton, the 2008 F1 champion, will hope that the Hungaroring helps him end his winless run. He won here last year for his third victory on the track but has not won a race since winning the United States GP last November.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a good car for quite a few years with McLaren,” Hamilton said. “These guys (Vettel and Grosjean) are going to be ridiculously fast, so trying to keep in front or hold onto them is going to be the challenge.”
Grosjean has found his form recently, finishing third at the German GP three weeks ago to end a miserable run in which he failed to place inside the top 15 for four Formula One races.
“I quite like this circuit, but it doesn’t mean much unfortunately. The last lap was a pretty good lap,” said Grosjean, who was third in Hungary last year. “I’m happy to be back in the top three in qualifying. It was a good lap and we’re happy with that.”
The track temperature on the Hungaroring circuit reached 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), and similarly stifling temperatures are expected for Sunday’s race with tire degradation expected to play a key part in the result.
Rosberg will start fourth ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who trails Vettel by 34 points and has not won since his 32nd career GP in front of his home fans in Barcelona in May.
The pressure will be on tire manufacturer Pirelli.
Last week, the teams held in-season testing sessions at Silverstone to assess new tires provided by Pirelli, after several spectacular blowouts on the same circuit at the British Grand Prix in June prompted a furious response and even a boycott threat from drivers.
Pirelli decided that from this race until the end of the season, it will revert to last year’s tires combined with the current compounds from this season.
Soft and medium tires will be available for the race, with two or three pit stops expected.
“Good tire management and a flexible strategic approach will definitely pay off,” Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber did not make a run in Q3 because of a problem with KERS, which can boost acceleration, and will start from 10th.
“That was a massively disappointing qualifying session,” the Australian said. “We had no KERS, and a basic gearbox setting that we couldn’t get out of.” – AP
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