From Vernon Matongo's scrum dominance to Deon Fourie's masterclass, five key lessons as the All Blacks kick off their tour against a resolute Stormers side.

Patrice Motsepe's controversial endorsement of Gianni Infantino for FIFA president raises questions about loyalty and governance in African football. Ziyad Motala critiques the implications of such political alliances and the need for accountability in leadership.

The build-up to the unveiling of the all-new Mitsubishi Pajero is in full flight with a select number of owners recently given the opportunity to see the new generation model from up close in Japan. The SUV is set to be revealed at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo in October, with additional teaser images expected in the lead-up to the event. It is not yet confirmed if it will be offered in South Africa. Mitsubishi Pajero makes Pitstop On this week’s episode of The Citizen Motoring‘s Pitstop podcast, we discuss the return of the iconic nameplate. And we discuss what will be expected of the new model in order for it to live up to its reputation. The Pajero was first showcased in 1981. After 39 years and global sales of 3.3 million, production was discontinued in 2021 due to its outdated design. Details are still sketchy, but the all-new Mitsubishi Pajero is likely to replace the Pajero Sport. The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport rides on the same ladder-frame platform as the Triton bakkie and rival similar products like the Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu D-Max and Ford Everest. It is said to feature “outstanding off-road capability” and likely to be aimed at the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. A prototype Pajero spied during testing featured an upright boxy design. Bespoke suspension The SUV will have bespoke front and rear suspensions not available on any other Mitsubishi product. Inside it will feature “model specific development”. A single teaser image also shows the Pajero with the same inverted L-shaped headlights as the Mitsubishi Destinator. The all-new Mitsubishi Pajero is also likely to feature the same 2.4-litre turbodiesel engine from the Triton and Pajero Sport. Another possibility could be the plug-in hybrid from the Outlander. The previous Pajero offered a choice of a 3.2-litre turbodiesel and two V6 petrol mills, a 3.0-litre and 3.8-litre.

The Council of Geoscience (CGS) has confirmed that a seismic event happened on Friday morning in the Welkom area in the Free State. The CGS said the incident happened at 9:17am. The South African National Seismograph Network (SANSN) said the tremor registered a local magnitude of 3.3. SANSN registered a local magnitude of 3.3 – CGS “The epicentre was located in the Welkom gold mining region, approximately 5km southwest of the mining town of Odendaalsrus in the Free State province,” CGS said. VolcanoDiscovery, an independent scientific, educational website and tracking platform that provides real-time global updates on volcanic activity and earthquakes, said people likely experienced weak shaking during the event. The platform received 20 reports for the seismic event from South Africa. Residents reported feeling it as far as 7.2 to 8.9km away. Residents report 5 to 7 seconds of shaking roof and creaking “Could hear it getting closer. I was indoors and house shook and windows and doors rattled. Got quite a fright, and it lasted about 5-7 seconds,” one user who was 5.8km from the epicentre reported. “It felt like the earth will give way under my feet,” another user who was 7.7 km from the epicentre wrote. “Roof was creaking and vibration,” someone else who was 8.8 km from the epicentre reported.

A cold front and cut-off low will bring bitter cold, heavy rain, strong winds, rough seas and a risk of localised flooding from Sunday. Very cold, wet and windy weather will spread across the Free State from Sunday evening, with snow expected on Monday and Tuesday. KWAZULU-NATAL Morning fog will affect the interior, while most areas will stay fine to partly cloudy and warm. The south-west will remain cool. Along the coast, moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly winds will turn south-westerly. The UVB sunburn index is expected to be extreme. DURBAN The weather will remain fine before becoming partly cloudy in the evening. Moderate northerly to north-easterly winds will turn south-westerly in the evening. Temperatures will range from 15°C to 27°C. The UVB sunburn index is going to be extreme. FREE STATE Free State is going to be fine and cool, becoming partly cloudy. BLOEMFONTEIN Bloemfontein is going to be fine. Temperatures will range from a minimum of 4°C to a maximum of 24°C. NORTH WEST North West is going to be fine and cool to warm, becoming partly cloudy over the southern parts. MAHIKENG Weather in Mahikeng is going to be fine. Temperatures will range from a minimum of 7°C. to a maximum of 26°C. Weather forecast data provided by the South African Weather Service.

How much is Lotto and Lotto Plus on Saturday, 8 August 2026 worth? Well, it breaks down like so: Straight Lotto is worth R9 million, Lotto Plus 1 sits at R6 million and for Lotto Plus Max 5 you can tag on another R2 million. All tallied up that put’s the total worth at R17 million for the next roll. That’s an increase of R3 million across all three games since the last roll on Wednesday. Nevertheless, success for Lotto and Lotto Plus on Saturday, 8 August 2026 comes from knowing how recently one of the three has just paid out. However, for a second successive game, we see amounts increasing across all three games. This suggests there’ve been no winners – big or small – recently. Payouts, while more frequent than before, are rarely climbing high anymore. LOTTO AND LOTTO PLUS Lotto and Lotto Plus on Saturday 8 August 2026 has always been the National Lottery’s bread-and-butter game. Cheaper than PowerBall and PowerBall XTRA, much easier to win, but less dramatic in jackpot size. Nevertheless, Sizekhaya’s 1 June 2026 takeover reshaped it even further. The core mechanics require players to choose six numbers from a pool of 1 to 52, which is reduced from 1 to 58 previously. As ever, numbers can be chosen manually or auto generated through the popular Quick Pick. Pricing sits lower than PowerBall’s increase. A standard Lotto board costs R5, with Lotto Plus 1 adding R2.50 and Lotto 5 Max adding a further R2.50 on top. Therefore, playing all three together costs R10 per board. What players are still wrapping their head around is the new MultiPlay (MP1) option. It lets players add a seventh number to their existing six in each of the three games. And it gets proportionally more expensive as you go. The total combination if you add MP1 across all boards is R70 – that’s R35 + R17.50 + R17.50. However, your odds are massively improved if you do go down this rabbit hole. HOW TO HANDLE MULTIPLAY Do you prefer to choose numbers manually or use the auto-generated Quick Pick? There’s good reason to opt for the latter … Image: File If you add MP1 to Lotto and Lotto Plus on Saturday 8 August 2026 across all three games, your total ticket will cost R70.00. Plus, if you’re using your banking app, be sure to lookout for digital banking fee of roughly R2.95 added to the transaction. So, the question remains, is it worth spending the extra money? Jackpot odds have already improved substantially under the new number matrix. The chances of matching all six numbers now sits at 1 in 20 million. That’s twice as likely as the old 1 in 40 million under ITHUBA. However, dabble with the MP1 and all of a sudden, you’re playing with seven numbers instead of six. This means your odds now become just 1 in 2.9 million, which represents a straight sevenfold improvement. And don’t forget that’s across all three games since they share the board. DRAW TIMES AND CLAIMING POWERBALL WINNINGS Remember, if you’re playing Lotto and Lotto Plus on Saturday 8 August 2026, decide on a budget before buying lotto tickets, and don’t chase a bad week by spending more. The National Responsible Gambling Programme runs a toll-free counselling line on 0800 006 008 for anyone who is struggling. Lotto and Lotto Plus draws twice weekly at 21:00. Sizekhaya brought back live televised draws using physical draw machines. Ticket sales cut off half an hour before the draw typically at 20:30. All lottery prizes must be claimed within 365 days of the draw date. Anyone who misses that window forfeits their prize and the money is transferred to the National Lottery Distribution Trust for charitable causes. How and where to claim Lotto and Lotto Plus on Saturday 8 August 2026 winnings depends on the amount won: Small prizes (up to R4 999) get paid out directly at licensed retailers. Mid-tier prizes (R5 000 to R49 999) can be claimed at selected partner banks. Anything above R50 000 requires an in-person visit to a Sizekhaya regional office, with the original ticket and a valid South African ID. Online and banking-app players have prizes up R249 999 are deposited automatically into their accounts. CONTACT SIZEKHAYA FOR HELP Sizekhaya Holdings’ head office is based in Sandton. Image: File Anyone unsure where to start can call the Sizekhaya helpline on 0861 026 000. Or you can visit one of the eight regional offices nationally: Head Office/Gauteng at 36 Homestead Road, Edenburg, Sandton KwaZulu-Natal at 10 Rydall Vale Crescent, Umhlanga Ridge Western Cape at 1st Floor, The Barracks, 50 Bree Street, Cape Town Eastern Cape at 153 Cape Road, Newton Park, Port Elizabeth Free State & Northern Cape at 3 Barnes Street, Arboretum, Bloemfontein Limpopo at Gateway Park, Polokwane Mpumalanga at 29@Marloth, Nelspruit And one final note, around R257 million in lottery prizes currently sits unclaimed across South Africa from the previous operator. Therefore, checking old ticket numbers against those drawn (up to one year ago) costs you nothing and might just turn up forgotten money. You can do so by clicking past results HERE.

Generation fell 8.1% in June to the weakest reading in seven years, while Eskom’s fleet ran better than at any point since 2017.

M-Net Movies 1, Mzansi Bioskop, Mzansi Music and KykNet Lekker close on 16 September as four sport channels launch.