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/ 8 September 2008
Imagine every time your name is mentioned it is preceded by "first this" and "first that". Few of us can enjoy this status, but Phethiwe Matutu ranks top among these few.
It has been a busy few weeks at the South African Rugby Union (Saru). At the end of March Saru’s AGM mandated Oregan Hoskins to remain as president for the next two years. Hoskins rebuffed a challenge for the presidency from his vice-president, Mike Stofile, and then lambasted his opponent for saying: ”There is no place for black people in South African rugby.”
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/ 29 February 2008
Football gets by on 11 rules: a simple game for simple folk. Rugby has 22 laws, each one of which has myriad sub-clauses. On top of that there are the variations, laws adapted for under 19-rugby and different ones for seven-a-side. Now the big boys have their own discrepancies.
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/ 11 January 2008
”I want to be honest with South Africa and say that the appointment was not entirely made for rugby reasons. We as an organisation have made the appointment and taken into account the issue of transformation very, very seriously when we made it. I don’t think that tarnishes Peter — I’m just being honest with our country.”
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/ 9 November 2007
Hot on the heels of Springbok coach Jake White’s announcement of his imminent departure, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) seems set to add the name of Dick Muir to its shortlist of candidates to replace White. This is the same Saru that claimed White could not be considered for an extension of his post because he had missed the deadline for applications.
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/ 2 November 2007
The rugby season is over and the foot-shooting season is upon us again. On the field the game in South Africa is stronger than it has ever been. Proof came in Bloemfontein on Saturday when the Free State Cheetahs took two tries on the chin from the Lions, then scored two of their own to win the Currie Cup final 20-18.
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/ 26 October 2007
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For the first time in its 20-year history, the third place play-off game was better than the Rugby World Cup final. A joyous Argentinian side swept aside host nation France at the Parc des Princes 24 hours before South Africa finally quenched the English flame and put the light out on that team’s four-year reign as champions.
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/ 19 October 2007
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There have been many times during the past 12 years when the idea of South Africa ever winning the World Cup again seemed utterly ludicrous. Remember when André Markgraaff dropped Francois Pienaar and replaced him in the Springbok squad with Theo OostÂÂhuizen? That was ludicrous.
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/ 12 October 2007
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If this World Cup has taught us anything it is that too much preparation can be stifling. It is plain madness to spend four years preparing for a tournament that might be decided by the whim of a referee. The moral is: empower the team you have and remind them that the World Cup is an adventure, not a destination.
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/ 28 September 2007
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When the draw for Rugby World Cup 2007 was made, certain things were assumed. It seemed a foregone conclusion, for instance, that the big game in Pool A would be South Africa against England and that the only potential giant-killer among the other three teams in the group would be Samoa.