The decision to clear Philip Spies of doping=20 charges goes=20
against IAAF rules and could create a legal=20 precedent
ATHLETICS:Julian Drew
THE acquittal on a doping offence by an Athletics=20 South Africa (ASA) tribunal of javelin star Philip=20 Spies at the weekend could have serious=20 repercussions for the sport.=20
Under the regulations of the world governing body,=20 the International Amateur Athletic Federation=20 (IAAF), rule 55.4 states: “It is an athlete’s duty=20 to ensure that no substance enters his body tissues=20 or fluids which is prohibited under these rules.=20 Athletes are warned that they are responsible for=20 all or any substances detected in samples given by=20 them.”=20
As such an athlete is automatically guilty of an=20 offence if a banned substance is found in his/her=20 urine (or blood) sample as long as the correct=20 sampling procedure has been carried out. In a=20 statement read out by Judge Deon van Zyl after the=20 hearing it was said that Spies took all reasonable=20 steps in terms of the rules to establish whether=20 there were any forbidden substances contained in=20 the pills which caused the positive test and did=20 not therefore contravene the rules.=20
“What we have done today is created a precedent and=20 stuck our necks out. We’ve given our consideration=20 to this case and this is our view of a flexible,=20 just and equitable interpretation of the intentions=20 of the drafters of these regulations,” said Van=20 Zyl. “We believe that the IAAF will be compelled to=20 amend its rules to make provision for this kind of=20 situation and give greater discretion to tribunals=20 such as this. I am totally against the strict=20 liability which these regulations have created. It=20 is in conflict with all recognised constitutional=20 principles throughout the world and the IAAF has in=20 fact created a little monster by retaining this=20 strict liability. It should be removed and every=20 case adjudicated on the relevant facts.”=20
The IAAF has yet to comment on the case as it is=20 still awaiting the official report but it is=20 unlikely to look favourably on an alteration to its=20 rules allowing a more flexible approach to doping=20 offences. So serious is the problem of doping in=20 athletics, and in fact in all sports, that any=20 softening of the stance on an athlete’s liability=20 would provide a loophole that would be quickly=20 exploited by the unscrupulous.=20
The IAAF has already been involved in several high=20 profile legal disputes, most notably with American=20 400m world record holder Butch Reynolds and German=20 world 100/200m champion Katrin Krabbe, over=20 positive drugs tests and the existence of any=20 openings for teams of OJ Simpson-style lawyers to=20 capitalise on would not be welcome.=20
However, it will be interesting to see how the IAAF=20 responds to the unique circumstances surrounding=20 Spies for they are such that it will find it=20 difficult to overrule ASA’s decision. Spies is one=20 of athletics’ true amateurs who is well-known for=20 his outspoken stand against drugs in sport and is=20 cautious to the point of obsession over what kind=20 of medication and food supplements he takes.=20
In February this year three coaches at Spies’ Rand=20 Afrikaans University (RAU) Athletic Club contacted=20 Chris Hattingh, chairman of ASA’s Doping=20 Commission, to determine if it was safe for=20 athletes to use a food supplement called Muscle=20 Pill. The American-manufactured product is freely=20 available in many gyms and health food shops=20 throughout South Africa and contains natural=20 vitamins and herbs including a substance called Ma=20 Huang, a Chinese name for an alkaloid derived from=20 the stems of the plant ephedra finica which is a=20 member of the family from which ephedrine is=20 obtained in its natural form.=20
Ephedrine is a schedule two drug that may only be=20 sold by a pharmacist. It acts as a decongestant and=20 is often contained in cold and flu medicines to=20 open up the chest. It is classified as a stimulant=20 by the IAAF and carries a three-month suspension=20 for a first-time offender.=20
Hattingh gave his approval of Muscle Pill because=20 the Ma Huang content was only 0,5 percent of the=20 permissible daily adult dosage of ephedrine and he=20 said it could not cause a positive test result. His=20 decision was later proved to be correct when many=20 of the South African athletes using Muscle Pill=20 were tested, including Spies on four previous=20 occasions, and none were positive.=20
That was until the All African International=20 Invitational meeting on September 23 which opened=20 the new Johannesburg athletics stadium. Spies=20 returned from the All Africa Games in Harare four=20 days before the meet and was so exhausted from his=20 long season that he decided he would not compete in=20 the meeting that coming Saturday. It was only on=20 the Thursday that he changed his mind and decided=20 to help out after many other local athletes had=20 withdrawn.=20
On the Friday evening Spies took four Muscle Pill=20 tablets and then a further three sets of three=20 tablets on the day of the meeting to try and combat=20 his fatigue.=20
The dosage complied with the prescription on the=20 bottle. Spies was asked to submit a doping sample=20 after the meeting and it was this which produced=20 the positive result for ephedrine and two of its=20 related compounds.=20
@When in Rome beat the Italians, then think of=20 England
RUGBY: Jon Swift
THE South African influence in Italian rugby has=20 always been a strong one. There are the obvious=20 examples of Springbok captains of recent years Naas=20 Botha and Jannie Breedt. But there have been a host=20 of others: Louis Babrow, Dougal Macdonald and Gert=20 Smal just to name a few. The annual migration to=20 the northern hemisphere has become an impetus as=20 sure as that of the swallow.
With the advent of the professional era and the=20 fact that the so-called minor rugby nations are=20 being taken more seriously, the number of South=20 African players in Italian rugby will drop=20 substantially under the dictates of the=20 International Rugby Board and the major nations=20 will surely use Italy more and more as a stopping- off point for Test matches.
The All Blacks have already done so on their way to=20 France, handing out a humiliating 70-6 hiding to=20 the Azzuri. This Sunday it is the turn of the South=20 Africans under captain Francois Pienaar and coach=20 Kitch Christie.
It is Christie who sounds the note of reason in the=20 unenviable and inevitable comparison which is sure=20 to be made on the scoreline of this Sunday’s Test.=20 “Don’t compare us with New Zealand,” was the way=20 Christie put it. He is right. Until Wales in 1999,=20 this country will remain world champions and the=20 All Blacks merely also-rans in the greater scheme=20 of things.
It is a sentiment echoed by Pienaar before the=20 team’s departure. “We will be looking to win,” he=20 said in his characteristic direct manner. “The=20 score is not important.” That is as may be. While=20 there is no faulting Pienaar’s logic, the revamped=20 team needs to win and win well against Italy.
Pienaar himself has something to prove. Switched to=20 No 8 for the first time at international level, it=20 is perhaps fortunate that the inspirational skipper=20 has a bedding down period of 80 minutes before he=20 comes head to head with Ben Clarke in the Test=20 against England just six days later.
The Italian Test also provides a chance under match=20 conditions for Pienaar and Fritz van Heerden to=20 formulate exactly how they will handle the back of=20 the lineout against the not inconsequential talents=20 of Clarke in this department. Especially given the=20 erratic throwing-in which is so much a hallmark of=20 James Dalton’s play at hooker for South Africa. It=20 is bad enough that principal jumpers Mark Andrews=20 and Kobus Wiese are often bemused, but in going for=20 the back of the line, Dalton’s unpredictability can=20 have chaotic and often costly consequences.
Against Italy, the nuggety Transvaal hooker has _=20 like Pienaar _ a chance to rid himself of the rough=20 edges which mitigate against his play in other=20 areas. He is a determined fetcher of the ball in=20 the maul, a superbly mobile player in the loose and=20 handles like a three-quarter.
Equally, this is the chance for the newly=20 formulated tight three to bed themselves in. Tommie=20 Laubscher is rightly back in the side as the most=20 solid of the tightheads this country has at present=20 and with Balie Swart, Os du Randt and
Garry Pagel all on the injured list, Toks van der=20
Linde gets his first cap on Dalton’s loosehead=20 shoulder.
Neither this trio, nor Andrews and Wiese at lock,=20 can afford to underestimate the Italians up front.=20 Surprisingly perhaps _ given their Latin roots and=20 the image of adventurous nature that a mental=20 picture of this generates _ Italy have=20 traditionally produced better forwards than backs.
Proof of this was the ability of Marco Bollesan in=20 the Seventies. The rough-hewn yet gentlemanly=20 bricklayer was one of the best No 8’s around in his=20 era and showed up even playing in an Italian side=20 arguably well below the standard of the current=20 line-up.
The Italians are doubtless smarting from the=20 unmannerly way in which the All Blacks treated=20 them. It is a thrashing they will be anxious to=20 forget by producing a good showing against the=20 World Cup holders.
Ahead of this though lies England at Twickenham=20 and, without denigrating the Italians, this is the=20 major task ahead. It is also a battle which will=20 surely be fought out at forward. For, despite=20 England coach Jack Rowell’s inclusion of Mike Catt=20 at flyhalf, it would be foolish to expect the men=20 in white to suddenly change a pattern which has=20 served them so long and so well overnight for the=20 simple reason that Rob Andrew is no longer at=20 pivot.
It is simplistic to say it perhaps, but at Test=20 level, there is more to winning a match than=20 reliance on the abilities and intuition of just one=20 player. There is also the fact that Catt is seeped=20 in the winning style of the Bath Rugby Club, the=20 spiritual home and the foundation of Rowell’s=20 coaching success.
England, despite their disinterested walkabout in=20 the third and fourth place World Cup play-off=20 against France, remain a potent rugby nation. There=20 are simply no amateurs in their game … and=20 regardless of the fingers pointed in this country’s=20 direction before the professional dispensation,=20 haven’t been for a number of years.
One well known South African prop of the Sixties=20 will be quick to tell you that it has been this way=20 with England forwards for a good while. All this=20 particular character’s chirping about bleek souties=20 was suddenly stilled in a Test match which was the=20 cause of his wearing a full set of dentures to this=20 day.
An England pack _ even one without the huge work- horse Dean Richards at the back of the scrum or the=20 ferret-faced London solicitor Brian Moore at hooker=20 _ represents a formidable obstacle. Even more so=20 with the crowd baying Swing Low Sweet Chariot in a=20 wave of sound covering the hallowed turf.
Rowell too makes much of his backline. This is a=20 debatable area when weighed against the claims of=20 the South Africans.
Catt will not have the protection of Dewi Morris,=20 as hard a scrumhalf as ever pulled on a rugby=20 jersey. Kieran Bracken, no mean exponent of the art=20 but a less physical player, is his halfback=20 partner. One would tend to suggest that the South=20 African duo of Joel Stransky and the mercurial=20 Joost van der Westhuizen have their measure.
And while there has, perhaps rightly, been much=20 made of the centre pairing of Will Carling and=20 Jeremy Guscott, it is debatable whether they are=20 any better than Japie Mulder or Hennie le Roux.=20 Certainly neither Englishman tackles with the=20 intensity of the Bok partnership.
And it is doubtful whether either Carling or the=20 more suspect on defence Guscott could have brought=20 off the superb cover tackle Mulder executed on=20 Jonah Lomu in the World Cup final.
It was probably the turning point of the game. For=20 the giant Lomu never got the ball after that=20 without looking around for the next kamikaze pilot=20 dive from the South Africans. One would argue that=20 Le Roux, though slighter in build than Mulder, is=20 equally good in the tackle and, it must be added,=20 as penetrative a broken field runner.
One would hope that once forward dominance is=20 established against Italy this Sunday, as it=20 doubtless will be given the Christie game plan, the=20 backline will concentrate on running hard and fast=20 the way fullback Andre Joubert does so well from=20 behind the line.
The inclination before the World Cup _ and in a=20 number of instances during the tournament _was for=20 the backline to over-elaborate. Against Italy, this=20 might be possible. Against England the odds shorten=20 considerably.
All this Pienaar and his players will do well to=20 bear in mind as they run on to the pitch at Rome’s=20 Stadio Olimpico this weekend. For after 80 tough=20 minutes they have an even tougher 80 ahead come=20 November 18.
@Putting a spin on the future
With the discovery of young spinner Paul Adams and=20
the wealth of young talent already pressing for=20
national selection, the future looks bright for=20 South Africa
CRICKET:Jon Swift
IF the glorious game of cricket can be typified as=20 having any single attribute, it must be the way it=20 invariably produces the unexpected. Just so with=20 the sudden elevation of young Paul Adams from the=20 ranks of the unknown to the South African A team=20 currently contesting the wicket at Kimberley=20 Country Club with the touring English.
Adams, an 18-year-old left-arm wrist spinner is, as=20 Eddie Barlow says, a “very exciting” discovery. “I=20 knew he was something special the first time I saw=20 him,” is the way Barlow put it. He is a hugely=20 exciting prospect. Forget the delivery which has,=20 for all the world, the initial impact of a ruptured=20 duck with lumbago. Adams is a distinct rarity in=20 world cricket.
His match return in the only Castle Cup game he has=20 played would tend to prove this. The youngster from=20 the Cape Flats ended with eight for 180 against=20 Northern Transvaal … and that was after Peter=20 Pollock and his selectors had grabbed Adams for the=20 South African A side.
Pollock has said more than once that the panel has=20 nothing against spin bowlers when it comes to=20 choosing the national side. Few have really=20 believed him on the evidence of an overwhelming=20 reliance on pace. In Pollock’s defence it is=20 difficult to argue against an attack which can=20 include any variation of Allan Donald, Brett=20 Schultz, Fanie de Villiers, Craig Matthews, Steven=20 Jack, Brian McMillan and now his son Shaun.
But by catapulting Adams into a position where he=20 and Nicky Boje are very real contenders for higher=20 honours, Pollock has made good his stated policy.
True, England manager Ray Illingworth would dispute=20 this on the five-pronged seam attack _ plus of=20 course the medium pace of Hansie Cronje and part- time spin of Gary Kirsten _ named for the first=20 Test next week at Centurion Park. “Not cricket,”=20 said Illingworth. Perhaps, given a traditional=20 standpoint and first-hand knowledge of the great=20 West Indian pace barrages, Illingworth has a point.
But he will surely concede from a background of=20 Yorkshire birthright and cricket culture that you=20 always pick a side you think can beat the=20 opposition, never one you think will please the=20 opposition.
And so it is at Centurion Park. Young Pollock’s=20 promotion to the senior side rides on the back of=20 some hostile and effective pace bowling this=20 season.
Shaun joins Matthews as the change combination=20 behind Donald and a fit-again Schultz with McMillan=20 _ thankfully not called on to accept the extra=20 pressure of batting at No 3 as well _ in there just=20 to make sure that England have to stay on the=20 defensive even if each one of the South Africans=20 only bowls in five-over bursts.
With John Commins and Rudi Steyn doing duty for the=20 A side, Cronje comes in as the first wicket down.=20 It is perhaps right that this is so.
Andrew Hudson is _ thank heavens _ back in form and=20 there is no better batsman in the country when this=20 is so.=20
And, with the dogged Gary Kirsten alongside him to=20 face the new ball, there are all the makings of a=20 potential platform for Cronje to really launch=20 himself from with the bat.
Much has been made of the England batting strength.=20 On the performances of Alec Stewart and John=20 Crawley alone this is not unjustified, even if Mike=20 Atherton and the out-of-form Robin Smith have yet=20 to play one of the really full innings of which=20 they are capable.
The South African emphasis on pace _ even if one of=20 the seamers does drop out for left-arm spinner=20 Clive Eksteen when the pitch has been thoroughly=20 examined before play _ would seemingly be=20 structured towards Smith’s known strengths rather=20 than any currently perceived weaknesses.
There is also Graeme Hick, Graham Thorpe and Mark=20 Ramprakash to consider. Ramprakash, the talented=20 Middlesex batsman who all but tore county cricket=20 apart in the season just past, is due to come good=20 at Test level. It could just be here on the=20 evidence of his performances thus far on tour.
For Smith, Ramprakash and to a lesser degree=20 Atherton, the Kimberley game provides the=20 opportunity to show their wares. True, with only=20 Steven Jack and Boland seamer Roger Telamachus to=20 provide the pace, the tourists do not have the=20 challenges facing them which will be the reality of=20 the first Test.
Whether this is a deliberate ploy on the part of=20 the South African selectors or not is a point which=20 will be debated awhile yet. But to gainsay=20 England’s abilities to weather two very different=20 storms would be foolish in the extreme. Certainly,=20 their level of batting provides the uncapped=20 Pollock with a special challenge.
But what young Pollock has done is open the door=20 for the veritable host of young cricketers waiting=20 in the wings for any of the more established Test=20 players to falter.
All this said though, one of the major peripheral=20 points of interest in the selection of both the=20 senior and A sides is to contrast the rise of the=20 younger Pollock against that of Adams.
Pollock has travelled the traditional route, albeit=20 with a somewhat special lineage in the realm of the=20 game in this country, going from school to club to=20 province in a steady progression that has enabled=20 him to make the huge leap to the Test arena.
Adams has not done so. He has come through the=20 United Cricket Board’s development programme. This=20 in itself is just as exciting as the young man=20 himself. And proof, perhaps, to the UCB that, while=20 the deep seam of natural resources has still to be=20 located never mind exploited, the programme does=20 indeed work.
The series, the games ahead and the longer-term=20 future look bright indeed for the game in this=20 country.