/ 28 July 1997

Northerns’ coach under fire

MONDAY, 2.00PM:

NORTHERN Transvaal captain Adriaan Richter has come out in support of the team’s coach John Williams, who is under fire from rugby officials in Pretoria. This follows Northern Transvaal’s 34-36 defeat by Northern Free State. Northerns have lost all three of their cup matches.

This was made worse by Williams’ failure to attend Saturday’s match. Instead he went on a hunting trip in KwaZulu-Natal. Richter said it is the players who must do the job on the field and not the coach.

“No matter how much he gives orders from the sideline, we must make the desicions and play the game on the field,” said Richter. He said as long as the coach does his job during the week, there is no problem. “Even Kitch Christie missed a game during the World Cup. He also missed some practice sessions and look how well it went then. From the players’ point of view, there is no problem with Williams’s absence,” he said

Meanwhile, a number of administrators have expressed their dismay at Williams’s absence. They say it is not the first time he has let the union down and that his position as the head coach should be re-evaluated.

SPORT BRIEFS

DE BEER WINS IRISH OPEN SOUTH AFRICA’S Surina de Beer beat Patricia Warbusch of Australia 6-4 3-6 7-6 to win the Irish Open tennis tournament in Dublin on Saturday. De Beer’s form has resulted in her ranking moving up 200 places from 510 to 310.

McCARTHY SCORES TWICE LOCAL soccer wunderkind Benedict McCarthy scored twice as his Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam beat Newcastle 3-0 on Saturday in the Umbro Cup.

COETZER OUT SOUTH AFRICAN tennis star Amanda Coetzer is out of the West Classic tennis tournament, after losing to Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-4, 6-0 in the semi-finals in Palo Alto, California on Saturday night.

WAYNE’S A WINNER SOUTH AFRICA’S Wayne Westner finished joint fifth on 274 in the Dutch Open golf tournament on Sunday.

TVL TAKES FINAL MATCH TRANSVAAL hockey men’s side beat the champions KwaZulu-Natal Raiders 3-1 in the final match of the season at the Epson Queensmead stadium in Durban on Sunday.

VAUGHAN’S PRO SUCCESS BRADFORD VAUGHAN won the R180 840 Trustbank Gauteng Classic golf tournament at Randpark on Saturday. This is his first success as a professional. “I can’t describe how relieved I’m feeling to have made that big breakthrough,” he said.