/ 12 February 2000

AJ cleared to join Sharks

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Saturday 3.30pm.

AJ VENTER has been cleared to play for the Natal Sharks by the Pretoria High Court, which dismissed claims that the star number eight was contractually bound to Ellis Park.

“I’m in heaven, I’m just so happy that I can get on with playing rugby now,” said Venter, who was been tied up in months-old contractual wrangles with his ex-province, the Golden Lions Rugby Union.

Venter was due to play for the Sharks in a pre-Super 12 match against Eastern Province on Saturday.

“I felt fairly confident all along that we would win the argument,” said the loose forward considered the best eighthman last season.

Although unlucky not to have been included in the World Cup squad where a woeful Bobby Skinstad under-performed, Skinstad has been ruled out of action for at least two months, opening the Springbok door for Venter to rejoin his ex-Free State back-rowers, Andre Venter and Rassie Erasmus.

Lions CEO Johan Prinsloo was disappointed with teh verdict, but was unsure if his union would press for further legal action.

However, the Sharks — who offered R600000 and other benefits to Venter when his Lions contract expired at the end of 1999 — will be keen to have his skills after the departure of stalwart and captain Gary Teichmann, who now plays for Newport in Wales after bein gcontroversially dumped in last year’s World Cup build-up.