With most of the stayaway Springboks back in the Transvaal team=20 and the Blue Bulls up and running, the Currie Cup is really=20 starting this weekend RUGBY: Jon Swift IN THE wake of the tidal wave of World Cup enthusiasm and=20 having navigated the trough of a player revolt, South African=20 rugby can truly be said to be back in business this weekend. There is little doubt that the focus will be on a Transvaal side=20 which includes an interesting mixture of last week’s stand-ins=20 and stayaways in the encounter with Western Province at Ellis=20
But, that said, there is more than a modicum of interest=20 surrounding the fortunes of Northern Transvaal in their trip to the=20 muggy confines of King’s Park in Durban. It could be argued=20 that Province always looked like winning the opening Currie Cup=20 fixture against Natal last Saturday, and that the tries by Chester=20 Williams and Tinus Linee only served to underline this in the 28- 21 scoreline at the final whistle. But Natal are never an easy task at home and James Small=20 –standing in at fullback again for the injured Andre Joubert — is=20 unlikely to repeat the blunders of last weekend. It is one of those truisms of South African rugby that a strong=20 Northern Transvaal side mirrors the overall health of the South=20 African game. Certainly, the 33-3 demolition job Adriaan=20 Richter’s men wrought on Free State last weekend is a good=20 pointer to the resurgence of the Blue Bulls as a force … especially=20 as they already have the M-Net Nite Series trophy at Loftus=20
Northerns’ coach John Williams believes “there is room for=20 improvement” in the way his charges performed against Free=20 State. Perhaps, but it is well to look at the players who have come=20 storming through in the light blue jersey. Young lock forward=20 Johan Ackerman is a real find, as is flanker Ralf Schroeder, who=20 played such a fine counterpoint to the perpetual motion man=20 Ruben Kruger. Flyhalf Jannie Kruger is another player to watch. There is raw=20 talent here. His boot may have been a touch out of kilter and he=20 may not always have latched on to the thinking of Joost van der=20 Westhuizen’s unpredictability last Saturday, but once he settles=20 into provincial competition Kruger has all the attributes to lift his=20 game that little bit further. We watch his progress with great=20
Equally, an eye must be kept on Small’s progress in the No 15=20 jersey. The most capped of the current crop of internationals,=20 Small is still only 26, a full five years younger than Joubert.=20 Having started his provincial career with Transvaal at fullback, it=20 is of more than passing interest to see whether the South African=20 selectors are looking to the shave-tailed rebel’s huge talents to=20 replace Joubert when he finally calls it a day — for surely another=20 World Cup is beyond even Joubert’s long reach. The same must be true of Rudolph Straeuli. The big No 8 who=20 rampaged his way through the tour of Scotland and Wales, and=20 was first choice at the back of the scrum going into the World=20 Cup, now finds himself on the Transvaal reserve bench. In his place is Lee Stewart, who performed so well as the untested=20 Transvaal side went down 31-17 to Eastern Province at Boet=20 Erasmus last weekend. Stewart is of an age with Province’s=20 Robbie Brink who he comes up against at Ellis Park. While the=20 two are not exactly in opposition, their individual performances=20 could well show the way to this country’s loose forward play in=20 seasons to come. Both matches offer intriguing prospects. Natal and Transvaal will=20 want to regain the early ground they have given up by opening=20 round defeats. Northerns and Western Province will want to=20 maintain the impetus of last Saturday. But one thing is evident, the Currie Cup can be said to truly start=20 this Saturday.
America’s soulman back on course Paul Azinger is looking forward to the British Open after winning=20 his battle for life GOLF: Derek Lawrenson AT FIRST everything appears as it was: the hair has grown back;=20 the swing is in place; the drives are long and true and the=20 mischievous smile is there when he holes for a birdie. What Paul Azinger had not bargained for was that beating cancer=20 would not be just a physical thing but a mental one as well. He=20 thought he would be back in the winner’s enclosure by now, back=20 to where he was in 1993 before the doctor rang up with the results=20 of his biopsy. But 12 months on from the end of the treatment and=20 the banishment of the cancerous cells, Azinger is still a long way=20 from reclaiming his position as the best golfer in America. Take last month’s United States Open. By the fifth hole he knew=20 that it was an impossible dream. “Everything should have been=20 perfect. I was playing with Greg Norman and the crowds were just=20 enormous. It was the sort of situation I used to relish. I used to=20 pride myself on the fact I could out-concentrate any golfer on the=20 United States tour. But standing on the fifth tee I could cheerfully=20 have curled up and gone to sleep.” Azinger talked to his doctors, who told him that 12 months after=20 your insides have been churned this way and that it’s quite=20 * atural to find your concentration still wavering. This is fine=20 when you’re doing a nine-to-five job. Make yourself a coffee. But=20 waver over the odd five-iron shot and the resultant double bogey=20 will have you regressing through the field in a hurry. Azinger=20 hasn’t contended for victory in any tournament this year since=20 the opening event in Hawaii. His next tournament will be the Open Championship at St=20 Andrews next week. It will be his first Open since news broke that=20 he had Hodgkin’s disease and he’s assured of a warm welcome.=20 After all, it was down the road at Muirfield where he first made=20 his name, finishing runner-up to Nick Faldo in the 1987 Open. Azinger finished bogey, bogey to lose by one shot and endeared=20 himself to everyone with his speech to the crowd: “I don’t want=20 anyone to feel sorry for me, I’ll be back,” he said. Over the next six years he established himself as the heart and=20 soul of the American Ryder Cup team as it wrested control from=20 Europe. He was their Ballesteros, a man inspired by the emotion=20 of the occasion, and in 1993 he confirmed his status as one of the=20 game’s top players by beating Faldo and Norman to win that=20 year’s US PGA Championship. A month later he was part of a=20 winning Ryder Cup team. Then a fortnight after that his doctor=20 told him he could forget golf for a year, that he had more=20 important battles to face. “It was amazing. One minute you’ve=20 got total control of your life and the next the doctor utters three words — ‘you have cancer’ — and takes that control away from you.” Since his return, Azinger has had his moments. He shot a course- record 62 in the third round of last December’s Johnnie Walker=20 World Championship in Jamaica. He can still play the game. But=20 golf has always been about a lot more than that. “In terms of concentrating on where I am and what I’m doing=20 it’s as if I’m reliving my rookie year,” Azinger explained.=20 “I’ve also got to regain my nerve. I was talking to Mac=20 O’Grady [Ballesteros’ eccentric coach] whose wife had cancer,=20 and you know Mac, he’d read all the books and knew all the big=20 words and he said that certain types of chemotherapy can affect=20 the nerves and I remember when I was having my treatments my=20 fingertips used to go numb.”=20 At least the dry wit has survived intact. Ask Azinger about the=20 fact his hair appears to have grown back dark and curly where=20 once it was straight and fair and he replies: “Do you like it? It’s=20 my Corey Pavin look.” Gradually the hair is reverting to its more natural state. Maybe the=20 golf is as well. A month ago Azinger shot 66 in the Greater=20 Hartford Open, his best score of the year. That morning he stood=20 on the practice ground and told reporters: “Do you know this is=20 the first time since I came back that I’ve actually wanted to come=20 out and practice rather than it being a duty thing? All this time=20 I’ve hit balls because I’ve not wanted to let down those=20 thousands of people who have cancer and who have written to me=20 and told me that I’m an inspiration to them. But this time I’m=20 practising for me and that’s a big step in my recovery.” It’s not too late for him to make this year’s Ryder Cup. Any sign=20 of form and he’ll be Lanny Wadkins’ No 1 pick. He’s actually=20 been practising a lot with America’s captain and his fellow=20 players have been ribbing him about it. Azinger replies: “Think=20 about it: the way it’s been for me this year, if I was trying to=20 impress him would I be actively encouraging him to watch me=20
What would impress Wadkins would be a good performance in=20 the Open. “That could happen. I’m really looking forward to St Andrews.=20 The Open means a lot to me because of Muirfield and because=20 it’s probably the major championship that best suits my game.=20 And the Old Course is perfect. It’s made for a player who hits the=20 ball low with a draw.”
Hero Stransky stays humble Springbok hero Joel Stransky believes the the players should=20 be rewarded for the entertainment they provide, but he is not=20 l etting his own fame go to his head RUGBY: Paul Martin SCORING all of South Africa’s points in their World Cup final=20 victory over New Zealand gives Joel Stransky a pretty strong=20 platform from which to launch a few broadsides. Never has he=20 been afraid to speak his mind, and currently his mind, slowly=20 descending from Cloud Nine, is focusing on the injustice that he=20 and his fellow-Springboks perceive is being perpetrated against=20 the country’s heroes. “The players should hold the whip hand,” he asserts. “Maybe=20 we don’t hold it yet, but we should. We are the guys who pull in=20 the crowds to pay for all these stadiums. “We are making the unions richer, but we’re not reaping the=20 rewards we deserve.” He points out that a rugby player’s life, on the playing field at=20 * east, is “finished by the time you’re 32 or 33”. He adds: “I think=20 we’re no longer sportsmen, we’re entertainers, and we should be=20 paid accordingly.” Professionalism is, he is convinced, the only way to counter the=20 threat of professional rugby league, now under the Murdoch=20 empire. “The sooner rugby union gets into the competition the=20 better,” he opines. “Because by the time the union, or as Will=20 Carling put it, the ‘old geriatric farts’, turn around and see=20 what’s going on, there won’t be many union players left.” Though he says it will be tough to muster the enthusiasm for the=20 domestic rugby season after last month’s drama and euphoria,=20 the players will give of their best, precisely because they already=20 are adopting a professional “the show must go on” attitude. Appearances and tough-talking sometimes belie realities. This=20 apparently brazen, hard-headed businessman (he runs a sports=20 agency and restaurant in Cape Town) is still almost boyishly=20 excited and naively open. “It’s very hard to cope with it all,” he admits. “I sat on the bus=20 during the Johannesburg victory parade, thinking: how can any of=20 us not let this go to our heads. No-one really likes arrogance, but=20 after being idol-worshipped, you have to get your feet on the=20
“You can either let it go to your head, or be humble, and=20 appreciate it,” Stransky points out. “As long as we understand=20 our roots, where we’ve come from, we’ll be able to deal with it=20
It was from his close-knit family that the key values of humility=20 and determination were etched into young Stransky’s psyche. “He grew up without a silver spoon in his mouth,” recalls his=20 father Barry. While Stransky was at Golden Grove Primary=20 School, and Rondebosch Boys High, Barry was a buyer for a=20 South African retail trader.=20 He later made an essay into farming that was not only financially=20 unrewarding but also deeply upset Joel and his two younger=20
“We hated farming,” Stransky remembers. “I was 16 and it was=20 a bad time to have to pick up and move and make new friends.” Nevertheless, the move to a farm led to Stransky’s arrival at a=20 boarding school, Maritzburg College, which turned out to be a=20 blessing in disguise.=20 “During the first year there we only had one free weekend a term.=20 It was a bit of a shock: I’d been brought up in a city where I=20 could have an independent life.” Under a system of self-management, the boys handled discipline=20 without resorting to the teachers. “You had to discipline your=20 fellow-pupils and the younger guys. I think overall it made you=20 grow up quicker and tougher, mentally. It was a big help.” It all helped to shape him as a young man with serious intent. “I=20 think I’m a pretty strong-willed and determined character. You=20 must have a dream and set goals, and I’ll work 24 hours a day to=20 achieve my dream.” Rugby had dominated his dream-list ever since he watched his=20 first Test match, in 1976, and decided to model himself on the=20 Polynesian New Zealand winger, Bryan Williams. “I wanted to=20 be a wing like my hero … until I realised how little ball a wing=20 gets,” laughs Stransky. He moved to centre, but only became a=20 flyhalf when he turned 16. The mental toughness had begun in the home, according to=20 Stransky’s father. “I’ve tried to bring them up to be=20 independent, to say exactly what they think, politely but clearly.=20 It’s got him into trouble at times — like when he slammed the=20 selection of last year’s Springbok team to New Zealand — but=20 * ow they respect him for what he said.” When Stransky was left out of that tour, his father suspected anti- Semitism, but he now says he has been “proved wrong”. As the=20 only Jewish player in almost all the teams he has been in since=20 boyhood, Stransky is used to taking some stick … but insists it has=20 for the most part been benevolent. He brushes aside references to him by coach Kitch Christie at the=20 World Cup final press conference as a “Jew-boy”, a word taken=20 in overseas press reports to be anti-Semitic. Pointing to a tradition=20 among Afrikaners that a Jewish player brought good luck to a=20 Springbok team (he is the 10th), Stransky adds: “There’s a lot of=20 mocking and jovial talk in our team — it builds team spirit. Our=20 physiotherapist is also Jewish: him and I are the financial=20 committee, obviously!=20 “It’s all meant in jest and that’s the way it’s taken.” Now that the Big One is over, Stransky is looking forward not=20 only to professional rugby but also to “sharing some quality=20 time” with his wife. “We married in January, but I don’t think=20 I’ve spent three weeks at home with her,” he ruefully calculates. On a more intangible but still important level, he wants to harness=20 his team’s massive popular support for the cause of the new=20 South Africa. “We started the World Cup with the motto: one=20 team, one country, and to have seen it become a reality has been=20
“We are trying to help our people unify, and it doesn’t matter=20 what race or religion you are in our team — and in our country.=20 That’s the only way forward.” How to control the uncontrollable Open
Patience and planning are needed to win the British Open at the=20 difficult St Andrews course in Scotland GOLF: Jon Swift IT IS probably stating the obvious, but if there is to be a British=20 Open title in any golfer’s destiny, the venue he would choose for=20 it would be the home of the game, St Andrews. It is a course carved out of deceptively gentle rolling terrain, yet=20 frequently bedevilled by the vagaries of often unfriendly elements=20 where — to quote title holder Nick Price — humans attempt to=20 control the uncontrollable. St Andrews is, in essence, a cerebral layout. But such is the=20 bloody-mindedness of the Scots who foisted the game on an=20 unsuspecting world in the first place, that all this is considered=20 merely the way it should be. Certainly, Price faces an uphill battle next week to hold onto the=20 claret jug he clasped so tightly after victory last year. For if an=20 Open at St Andrews represents the holy grail for the aspirants, the=20 inverse is also probably true for the defending champion. There is simply too much which can go wrong at St Andrews and=20 added to this is the fact that Price is battling a nagging hip injury=20 which has seen him slide down towards an unaccustomed spot=20 * ear the 50 mark on the United States money-winners list. The Durban-born Zimbabwean is coming off two great years,=20 encompassing three major titles. But he has yet to earn a top-three=20 finish, never mind threaten any of the five titles he gathered last=20
What serves as an impeccable line of approach one round, can be=20 the route out of the tournament the next, such are the subtleties of=20 green and slope the shift and roll of the Scots soil throws at the=20
But above all, the crucible of golf demands patience. An in-built=20 understanding that there are holes you shoot at and, then again,=20 there are holes you play with the knowledge that par is about as=20 good as you can expect from the sporting gods one suspects don=20 tartan for this one week every year. It is, as history has tended to prove and all the experts would be=20 quick to tell you, a course for the players who already have a=20 major victory to their names. Those who can hold four good=20 rounds through all the changes of set-up and weather which can=20 be thrown at them. An arena where experience often counts far more than raw ability=20 and certainly not a site which provides an agreeable shooting=20 gallery for American-style target golf. It is almost certain that the oddsmakers will be looking at Price,=20 the incomparable Aussie Greg Norman, the patient and=20 professional Bernhard Langer and the imperious Pom Nick Faldo=20 to top the boards. Of these, St Andrews is probably best suited to the mechanical=20 correctness of Faldo, who rolls shot after near-perfect shot off a=20 swing grooved to do exactly what he wants it to do. Faldo also has=20 the patience to wait out the elusive birdies … and then make them=20
With all this in mind in assessing the southern African challenge,=20 the venue for this year’s Open Championship perhaps favours=20 David Frost more than any other. Frost is a player of immense=20 patience who has proved over and over again with consistently=20 * ow scoring in his Dunhill Cup outings that St Andrews holds no=20 real terrors for him. Frost has the ability to choose his shots=20 correctly when the situation calls for conservatism and fire it in=20 close to the pin when the rare opportunity presents itself. There is also the fact that the Bolander is starting to approach that=20 dreadful cusp where age starts overtaking ability in the quest for a=20 major title. If Frost is to join the exalted ranks of those who can=20 claim this distinction, this is probably his best chance. If Frost’s opportunities are starting to become more limited, the=20 same cannot be said of Ernie Els, a consistent top 10 finisher in=20 the Open since he first started exporting his prodigious talents=20 beyond South Africa’s borders. Missing the cut in defence of his=20 US Open title could not have helped. But then the break away=20 from the game to watch South Africa annex the Rugby World Cup=20 might just provide the breather — and arguably the impetus — Els=20 * eeds. There remains an air of the inevitability about long-term success=20 around Els. What faces him right now is a change of emphasis=20 rather than any alteration of the circumstances which led to his=20 explosive year in 1994. Els has many things to learn about the profession of golf. Not=20 * east of these is how to approach the attack on a major title with=20 the refocused demands on his time and talents. And to settle into=20 a rhythm where his vast army of fans begin to understand that=20 Ernie is not going to win every week. It might take several years for him to adjust to these demands or it=20 could happen overnight. One suspects, though, that it is being=20 overly optimistic to expect overnight miracles at as demanding a=20 site as St Andrews.
Committee that will have to be on the ball SOCCER: Nelson Rashava EIGHT committee members and one president bear the burden of=20 clearing up the mess that South African soccer finds itself in. This week South African Football Association (Safa) executive=20 president Solomon “Stix” Morewa announced the formation of a=20 committee to resolve the problems and restructure the game. The committee will have four members from Safa and four from=20 the National Soccer League, including chairman Leepile=20
Meanwhile, President Nelson Mandela has become so concerned=20 about the state of the game that he has requested a meeting with=20 officials and a separate committee also comprising members from=20 Safa and the NSL will meet the president this month. The first promising breakthrough came last Thursday when the=20 heads of Safa, the NSL and the National Sports Council met=20 Minister of Sport and Recreation Steve Tshwete in a gathering=20 intended to improve relations among the warring factions. After the meeting agreement was reached that a new spirit must=20 prevail if soccer is to achieve rehabilitation. All parties agreed to=20 stop talking out of turn and everyone seemed to have regained=20 their composure. The devoted soccer fan must have felt the end was near when=20 Kaizer Chiefs were docked three points and saw their Coca-cola=20 Cup semi-final postponed after Jomo Cosmos owner Jomo Sono=20 amazed everyone in the game by lodgng a protest that Chiefs had=20 used an improperly registered player, former Vaal Professionals=20 striker Fortune Koloba, in a league game between Chiefs and=20 Cosmos in June. It was a move destined to change the whole face of South African=20 soccer. For a while, Orlando Pirates supporters were laughing at=20 the plight of their arch rivals, but the proud Chiefs fans, who have=20 had little to rejoice about lately, took it as an offence and bayed for So= no’s blood. The fact that it was Jomo Sono clashing head to head with Kaizer=20 Motaung increased the level of tension. Fans were physically=20 assaulted as the frenzy swept the country. Things worsened when=20 Sono reported receiving death threats.=20 But Chiefs won the “revenge” match when they got their points=20 back following an appeal and Sundowns’ appeal to take their=20 place in the Cup was thrown out. Sono, whose forceful personality=20 has been the scourge of many before this, has taken the matter to=20
Sono is convinced he did the right thing — blunderers must be=20 punished and Chiefs did not act accoriding to the NSL=20 constitution. Chiefs officials who came out of the disciplinary=20 hearing bemused, say it is all part of a vendetta against Chiefs and=20 Motaung personally. “We have to look at our structures,” says Morewa. “And the=20 NSL’s rules and regulations do not square up with Confederation=20 of African Football and fifa regulations. The current structures are=20 the structures of 10 years ago. “It is a product of that era. It is a history we cannot deny. A lot of=20 things still have to be cleared up.” The NSL and Safa are still characterised by disorganised and=20 indecisive structures, mismanagement and incompetence. There is=20 still a serious lack of expertise in the areas of technical=20 knowledge. Disorder and indiscipline rein supreme on and off the=20 pitches as referees plead with Safa to train them. The players have=20 taken the law into their own hands and crowd violence goes=20
The eight-man committee clearly has a lot of work to do to clean=20 up the sport.