Author: Toby Shapshak

If ever you needed confirmation about the lack of common sense in how government departments approach practical problems, then the ongoing debacle of analogue TV signals being switched off is it. The international deadline for this was July 2015. South Africa is a full decade overdue in releasing these useful frequencies to cellular operators. The opportunity losses for the cellular industry are incalculable, brought on by simple incompetence. Now, with just 67,943 households remaining, the Department of Communications has asked Parliament for another R803 million to finish a job it says they’ve already spent R2 billion on. As the youth text, “WTF?”.…

Sleep is so important for our health that Discovery is incentivising its health and insurance customers to get more of this “nightly program that keeps the brain and body working”. Discovery has run a three-year research project on sleep and matched that data with all the other data Discovery collects from its members and policyholders. This includes data from health trackers, smartphone apps, vehicle telematics, and all the insurance claims (health and vehicle) and other data it collects. If you understand how Vitality Active Rewards work (I never did), then you will get Vitality Sleep Rewards. This is calculated on…

Of course, the Boks won the Rugby Championship against Argentina at Twickenham, with the country’s next World Cup side beginning to take shape, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome to Stuff Rugby. Listen to Stuff Rugby on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Previous episode: Is Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu the next best thing since sliced bread?…

There is no doubt that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is a “generational” talent – after his record-setting 37-point individual score in a Test. Poor Argentina, like both Australia and New Zealand, had no answer to South Africa’s mercurial 23-year-old prodigy, who scored a hat-trick of tries and 37 points, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome…

Documentaries Chasing the Sun 2 and School Ties, drama series Koek (cake), and Charlotte Hope in Catch Me a Killer for Best Performance by an Actress have all been nominated for International Emmy Awards. A fifth nomination for Playroom Live on channel 300 was also nominated in the ‘Kids: Factual’ category, gives South Africa its highest list of nominations. “As the International Emmys continue to recognise the very best in television, the creativity and calibre of this year’s nominees, from a record 26 countries, reflect the global strength of our industry,” said International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences president…

With two injury-enforced changes, the Springboks to face Argentina in Durban have a new look about them. Is this the beginning of the next World Cup defending team, Toby Shapshak asks Andy Capostagno. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome to Stuff Rugby. Listen to Stuff Rugby on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Previous episode: Springboks blow All Blacks away:…

After the bitter defeat at Eden Park, a wounded Springboks side blew the All Blacks off the Wellington pitch with a triumphant 43-10 win, the biggest ever defeat for New Zealand at home or away. Ouch. But the real pain, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak, is that All Blacks legends can see the country just doesn’t have the depth of talent it needs for the modern era. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when…

After a game to forget at Eden Park, Rassie Erasmus wasted no time in announcing his Springbok team on Monday morning. Gone are two former captains, Jesse Kriel and Eben Etzebeth, as well as veterans like Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux, and Damian de Allende. This is not the team Rassie planned, and some big names have been omitted, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly…

If the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 300 were an action movie hero, it would be Jason Statham. Smooth and debonair in polite society, but brutal and unstoppable in the action sequences. All while being easy on the eye. I’m not a traditional motoring journalist. While both my older brothers were petrolheads and fiddled under the bonnet of their cars, I was never bitten by that bug. I’ve never been a petrolhead, nor – to be frank – have I ever really cared much for cars. Until electric vehicles (EVs) arrived. Now I’m a batteryhead. But there is a category of…

Digital crime continues to “soar” in South Africa, with digital banking fraud nearly doubling in volume over the previous year, according to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) in its Annual Crime Statistics for 2024. “The 2024 statistics highlight that digital banking fraud remained the most dominant channel, accounting for 65.3% of reported incidents,” Sabric found, with cases almost doubling, from 31,612 in 2023 to 64,000 in 2024. Meanwhile, losses increased from R1 billion to over R1.4 billion, it reported. “In 2024, digital banking crime continued to soar following the sharp upward trend from 2023,” the report found. “Digital banking fraud…