The South African Rugby Union on Monday confirmed that a hearing into a complaint against the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union and players Louis Ludik and Willem Alberts would be heard on Wednesday.
The complaint was brought by the Golden Lions Rugby Union who alleged that the Sharks – the commercial entity of the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union – had not secured the necessary clearance certificates required before contracting the players.
The Lions also charged that the two players remained under contract to them. The Lions allege that this constituted a breach of SARU regulations relating to the Movement of Players and asked SARU to investigate the complaint.
Koos Basson – the former chairman of the SARU disciplinary committee – has been appointed as Judicial Officer and will hear the complaint at SARU’s offices in Newlands on Wednesday, February 10 at 10am.
Albert van den Berg has signed a one-year contract to see out his career in Japan.
The 36-year old lock, who is the most-capped Sharks player ever, moves to the Canon club in Japan on February 20 after an outstanding career with the Sharks.
Van den Berg, who made his provincial debut for Vaal Triangle way back in 1994, has accumulated 146 provincial caps and 102 Super caps, and played in 51 Tests for the Springboks. He made his international debut against Italy in 1999.
He will be much missed in Durban where he built up a huge fan base among Sharks supporters for his exceptional line-out play, both on his own ball and in disrupting opposition throw-ins. He has always been regarded as an athletic lock who is equally formidable in the tight and in open play, an effective ball-carrier who scored many tries in his career.
He has achieved a remarkable milestone in his career, becoming the most capped Sharks player ever, with a combined tally of 171 caps. Last year he overtook iconic Sharks Hugh Reece-Edwards and Steve Atherton, who held the record with 165 caps since 1995 and 1999 respectively.
Commenting on breaking the Sharks record for caps, Van den Berg said: "It was very special for me playing in my 171st game, in the semi-final of the Currie Cup last year against the Cheetahs. It's always something to aspire to, and players get judged by how many games they've played. There are a lot of legends out there and I am just happy to be part of that group."
Highlights in his career include being a member of the Springbok World Cup squad which won the trophy in 2007, winning the Tri-Nations in 2004 and the Currie Cup in 2008.
It was Van den Berg who scored the try to put the Sharks in the lead, in the dying moments of the game, in the momentous clash against the Bulls in the 2007 Super 14 Final in Durban.
Sharks CEO, Brian van Zyl paid tribute to Van den Berg and said: "We would like to wish Albert and his family the very best for the future. His humble and calm manner has had a great influence on the players around him. On behalf of everyone at the Sharks, I want to thank him for his massive contribution to our rugby, our brand and province throughout his playing career."
The 2.01m tall, 110kg Van den Berg was born in Hoopstad on January 26, 1974. He played in 146 provincial matches (15 for Vaal Triangle, 55 for Griquas and 76 for the Sharks) and in 102 Super games (95 Sharks, 7 Cats). He played 51 Tests and in three tour matches for the Springboks, and had the honour of playing for the British Barbarians in 2004.
The shoulder injury that Schalk Burger sustained at the Cape Town Stadium at the weekend is not serious and will not stop him from leading the Stormers on the pitch against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
“We were all a little nervous, but fortunately Schalk is fine,” Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said after his side’s 47-13 win over Boland. “It’s only a muscle injury and not a dislocation. He will definitely be ready.”
While little could be read into a match between a largely second-string Stormers team and Boland, Coetzee will be satisfied with how his team fared in the pre-season.
The Stormers beat the Force 54-12 and the Sharks 29-14. They can now enter the Super14 with confidence. The only major injury concern is centre Paul Bosch.
“Paul dislocated his elbow (against Boland) and we sent him to hospital for a scan. Hopefully he will not be out for long. He is one of the players that really impressed me,” said Coetzee.
Bosch’s role would have been limited to providing depth as Juan de Jongh and Peter Grant would probably have been ahead of him as inside centre options.
The South African Rugby Union on Sunday confirmed the names of 19 players who have agreed Springbok contracts for 2010. Ten of the players have signed contracts for the end of the 2011 season.
The contracted players for 2010 are: Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Heinrich Brüssow, Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Adrian Jacobs, Tendai Mtawarira, Victor Matfield, Wynand Olivier, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Danie Rossouw, John Smit, Juan Smith, Morné Steyn and Pierre Spies.
The players who have agreed contracts through to the end of the Rugby World Cup year in 2011 are: Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield, JP Pietersen, John Smit, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies.
Additional players called up by the Springbok selectors will be receive pro rata payments in line with the contracted group.
Some of the world's top rugby referees are set to whistle the first round of this year's Super 14 competition kicking off this Friday.
Announcing the match officials appointments for weeks one to five of the competition, Sanzar referees manager, Lyndon Bray, said having a strong start was important.
"We want our senior referees leading from the front in week one, particularly with the new Sanzar focus on four priority areas designed to free up the ball, give clarity to rulings at the tackle area and scrum time, and penalise players advancing from off-side positions during kicking phases.
"I'm heartened by the results of applying these priority areas during pre-season games. The signs are good for the start of season," Bray said.
The experienced referees include Australia's Stuart Dickinson who whistles the first match for 2010 with the Blues against the Hurricanes in Auckland, and former New Zealand referee, now in Australia, Steve Walsh, who returns to international refereeing in the Force v Brumbies game in Perth.
South African Jonathan Kaplan will referee last year's Super 14 champions, the Bulls, who face the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Fellow South Africans Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper and New Zealanders Chris Pollock and Keith Brown will all have first round duties with the whistle.
Fiji managed to close the gap on leaders New Zealand, when they edged fellow Pacific Islanders Samoa in a dramatic Final on Day Two of the Wellington leg of the International Rugby Board Sevens World Series on Saturday.
Fiji won a stunning Final of breathless intensity 19-14 against Samoa.
Iliesa Tanivula's side were the outstanding side of the tournament, ending England's title defence at the semifinal stage and then going on to clinch a first Wellington crown since 2006.
In doing so, they also cut New Zealand's lead in the 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series to just four points.
Gordon Tietjens' New Zealand side came up short against a superb Samoan display of power and trickery in their semifinal, the returning Uale Mai inspiring the Samoans to a convincing 24-14 win.
Fiji then ended England's brave title defence, forwards Setefano Cakau, Seremaia Burotu and Pio Tuwai doing much of the damage as they ran out 28-19 winners.
Australia were too strong for South Africa in a Plate Final running out 26-22 winners, Wales won their third Bowl trophy of the season with a hard-fought 7-5 victory against France and the United States Eagles beat Tonga 17-14 in the Shield Final.
We bring you all the Day Two action!
Bowl quarterfinals:
The tiny island nation of Niue caused a major upset when they beat Scotland to reach the semis of the Bowl.
Wales will play Argentina for a place in the final of the Bowl - a replay of last year's Rugby World Cup Sevens final. in the other half of the draw France will take on Niue after the islanders won a fine victory against Scotland.
The losers of the Bowl quarter finals - PNG, Tonga, USA and Scotland - go on to contest the Shield.
Results: Match 25: Wales 31-12 Papua New Guinea Match 26: Argentina 17-7 Tonga Match 27: United States 10-21 France Match 28: Scotland 12-17 Niue
Cup quarterfinals:
Gordon Tietjens' New Zealand side got their day two campaign off to the winning start they needed against Australia and are through to the Cup semis.
Also already through are Samoa, who fought from behind to beat Kenya, and England who were made to fight but possessed too much for Canada.
In the final match in the Cup quarterfinals Fiji scored their third successive tournament win over South Africa - having also knocked the Boks out in the quarterfinals in Dubai and George.
Hosts New Zealand beat trans-Tasman rivals Australia to reach the Cup semis and will play Samoa after the islanders fought back from 12-0 down, captain Lolo Lui grabbing two fine tries.
In the other half of the draw England had to wait six minutes to register their first score against surprise package Canada, but went on to win 31-0 against the young Cannucks.
Australia, Kenya, Canada and South Africa go on to contest the Plate.
Results: Match 29: New Zealand 24-12 Australia Match 30: Samoa 14-12 Kenya Match 31: England 31-0 Canada Match 32: Fiji 21-5 South Africa
Shield semifinals:
Tonga are through to play the United States in the Final of the Shield after the two sides won their respective semi finals against PNG and Scotland.
Siaosi Iongi scored a brace for Tonga in their 26-10 win over a brave Papua New Guinea outfit, while he also added three conversions. Nese Malifa was The US Eagles' star, as he scored two of their three and added two conversions in a tight encounter.
Results: Match 33: Papua New Guinea 10-26 Tonga Match 34: United States 19-12 Scotland
Bowl semifinals:
Wales will play Argentina for a place in the final of the Bowl - a replay of last year's Rugby World Cup Sevens final. in the other half of the draw France will take on Niue after the islanders won a fine victory against
Darren Daniel scored twice, while Alex Cuthbert scored a third try and added a conversion as Wales edged Argentina in another tight semifinal encounter. Paul Albaladejo scored a try and kicked all four his conversions as France showed too much pace and power in their 28-12 win over Niue.
Results: Match 35: Wales 17-12 Argentina Match 36: France 28-12 Niue
Plate semifinals:
Australia will play South Africa for the consolation prize, the Plate trophy, after they won their respective semifinals against Kenya and Canada respectively.
Australia overwhelmed Kenya 26-17 to reach the final of the Plate competition and will now play South Africa, who had too much in the tank for Canada, winning 29-5. Two tries by Clinton Sills is what set the Aussie win up, while strong Frankie Horne added a double for South Africa in their win.
Results: Match 37: Australia 26-17 Kenya Match 38: Canada 5-29 South Africa
Cup semifinals:
Samoa edged New Zealand in a thrilling, and at times very bruising, semifinal to set up a Final showdown against fellow Pacific Islanders Fiji.
The little master Uale Mai produced a brilliant hat-trick in Samoa's 24-14, four-try victory over the Kiwis - two of those crucial scores midway through the second half when Samoa raced from 5-7 down to take an unassailable 24-7 lead - before New Zealand scored a late consolation try.
The tries were spread across the Fijian team, but the crucial score was William's Ryder's late try, which put the Fijians more that two converted tries clear and not even a late score could save the day for England. Emosi Vucago, with nine points (a try and two conversions), also made a valuable contribution.
Results: Match 39: New Zealand 14-24 Samoa Match 40: England 19-28 Fiji
Shield Final:
One week before their home tournament in Las Vegas, Al Caravelli's Eagles beat Tonga to the Wellington Shield. Matt Hawkins, Nick Edwards and Paul Emerick all scored as the US came from behind to win 17-14.
Result: Match 41: Tonga 14-17 United States
Bowl Final:
Wales won their third Bowl trophy of the season with a hard-fought 7-5 victory against France.
Result: Match 42: Wales 7-5 France
Plate Final:
For the second tournament running Australia were too strong for South Africa in a Plate final, running out 26-22 winners thanks to Clinton Sills' late try. They take 12 points towards their World Series tally, after twice coming back in a fiercely contested encounter.
Result: Match 43: Australia 26-22 South Africa
Cup Final:
Fiji have cliched the Final after winning a stunning final of breathless intensity 19-14 against South Sea Island rivals Samoa.
Fiji and Samoa laid on a stunning showpiece final for the packed Westpac Stadium crowd.
Jiuta Lutumailagi and Mikaele Pesamino swapped converted tries in the first 10-minute half, to make it 7-7 at the break.
Emosi Vucago raced over to edge the Fijians seven ahead shortly after the break and Osea Kolinisau's score put them 19-7 up with two-and-half minutes to go, but still the Samoans hit back.
Pesamino grabbed a second try with a minute to play and only desperate Fijian defence held the Samoans out in the dying seconds.
Baby Boks gaining invaluable lessons on French tour
South African Under-20 coach Eric Sauls believes that his team gained valuable lessons despite going down 10-5 to the French Invitational XV in Biarritz on Saturday.
This match, where only three tries were scored due to the wet and difficult underfoot conditions, was the Baby Boks’ first international match of the season. Gusting winds and torrential rain in the French city made it difficult for both teams to play much rugby.
Limited scoring opportunities presented itself throughout the match and as a result, the hosts held a 5-0 half time lead after flyhalf Jean Marc Doussaint scored the first try of the match.
In the second half, when fullback Walter Desmainson added the French Invitational XVs second try before SA Under-20 prop Marcel van der Merwe scored the visitors’ only points of the game.
“While playing conditions were unbearable at times, this is exactly the kind of lessons we want the guys to experience,” said Sauls.
“You must remember this was the first game we have played as a team this season. Playing any brand of attacking rugby was impossible due to the overhead and underfoot conditions. I am not making any excuses for the defeat, as we had the odd opportunity to score points.
“But this game afforded us the opportunity to see how our guys can perform in wet conditions.”
Sauls added that he was impressed with how his forwards scrummed and was also happy with the defensive effort of the Baby Boks. The SA Under-20 coach however pointed out that his team struggled at the breakdown after the South Africans were severely penalised in this facet of play.
“We had a referee from England, and in the first half, the guys really struggled to understand the way he officiated the breakdown,” said Sauls.
“But in the second half, we conceded fewer penalties in this area of the game.
“This aspect of the game – understanding and playing to the referee, is another important lesson we will take away from this game. We’ve got two more international friendlies, and it’s going to be important to see how the guys adapt to the northern hemisphere officiating.
Scorers: France Invitational XV – Tries: Jean Marc Doussaint, Walter Desmainson. SA Under-20s –Tries: Marcel van der Merwe.
An injury doubt to skipper Schalk Burger marred what was otherwise a memorable occasion as the Stormers christened the new Cape Town Stadium for rugby with a 47-13 win over a Boland XV on Saturday. It was the Stormers’ last match before the Super 14 season starts with a match against the Lions in Johannesburg next Saturday. Coach Allister Coetzee chose largely a fringe team for the occasion, and beforehand it was said that Burger could probably consider himself the only player in the side that that was a certainty to start at Coca-Cola Park.
However, it could prove a cruelly ironic statement if the shoulder injury that forced Burger off after just 14 minutes proves to be serious. The flanker was pulled down in a robust fashion in a tackle by Boland flyhalf Dean Grant.
That it might have done damage to Burger was immediately apparent as the Springbok reacted aggressively to the challenge, pinning Grant to the ground even as his team were running in the first try of the match to hooker Deon Fourie.
Burger was in a truculent mood for his remaining time on the field, and was penalised for a high tackle, but throughout he appeared to be feeling his shoulder and it was no surprise when he left the field to be replaced by Pieter Myburgh.
It was a pity that Burger’s afternoon was cut short, for he appeared to be relishing the prospect of playing in front of a sizeable crowd that had turned up to celebrate rugby’s arrival at a stadium that is massively impressive in so many ways. Built for the FIFA World Cup later this year, the stadium is ideal for rugby and reminds one so much of Stade de France.
A total of 40 000 tickets went on sale for the occasion, and all 40 000 were snapped up as Capetonians celebrated the new venue in fine style.
The first try to be scored at the venue will be credited to SA Legends Tens player Clinton van Rensburg, but Fourie’s was the first in the conventional code and it was a fitting way to get rugby going at the Green Point venue.
Burger, before he was tackled, played his part in the buildup with an impressive off-load as the Stormers second stringers drew the Boland defenders to create the space down the left flank which eventually saw the hooker over in the corner.
Officially it was a home game for Boland, and perhaps that galvanised the Wellington union, for they put up a much stronger showing than would have been anticipated. It may have come at a cost if Burger’s injury is serious and centre Paul Bosch went off with what looked a serious arm injury, but their physical approach should also have pleased the Stormers coach for it gave his fringe players the proper “hit-out” that they should have been looking for.
The Stormers had their moments, and probably should have been further ahead than just 23-13 at the end of the first hour, but there weren’t many players on the field in this game who did enough to suggest they should be starting against the Lions.
An exception might be big wing Sireli Naqelevuki, whose bulk was used more effectively in this game than it often is by the Cape team. Returning Springbok scrumhalf Ricky Januarie was sharp at the base of the scrum and it was the manner in which he drew the Bolanders off their line that set up the second Stormers try to left wing Dylan des Fountain.
Januarie later celebrated his return to South Africa from Welsh club, the Ospreys, by burrowing over the line for the fifth Stormers try as the Super 14 group took control in the last quarter.
However Boland hung in there until then, with two penalties from Grant and then a try to lock Johann Peacock keeping them well in it as the Stormers led just 18-13 at half-time.
The Stormers enjoyed a marked territorial ascendancy after the restart, Frikkie Welsh stretching the lead with a good try before Naqelevuki was up to seize an excellent bounce off a De Waal chip-kick to effectively end the match as a contest after 60 minutes.
Scorers:
Stormers:
Tries: Deon Fourie, Dylan des Fountain (2), Frikkie Welsh, Sireli Naqelevuki, Ricky Januarie, Bolla Conradie Conversions: Willem de Waal, Lionel Cronje (2) Penalties: De Waal (2)
Boland XV:
Try: Johann Peacock Conversion: Dean Grant Penalties: Grant (2)
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