Strength v strength at last

Thursday's South African Rugby Union (Saru) general council meeting at which the Currie Cup's Premier Division was reduced from eight teams to six apparently produced many verbal skirmishes.

While some unions came running into the gusty winds of change, others stood their ground, holding on to the nearest lamp post. Fixture congestion made it impossible for the competition to continue in its current form next season and now at last the sponsors can say they have a competition that pits strength against strength.

SYD Nomis, that larger-than-life Springbok centre/wing of the 1960s and early 70s, this week recalled how his teammates avenged the elbow in the face he received from All Blacks fullback Fergie McCormick. "He knocked my teeth out in the second Test and he hit me on the jaw in the third," Nomis said of the days when rugby had distinct pugilist leanings. When players slugged it out back then referees didn't intervene immediately, believing justice would ultimately prevail. "The ref came up to me at the cocktail party after the game and asked: 'Did I give you enough time?'" Nomis recalled.

NEXT week's Test in Port Elizabeth will be an august occasion. It will be the first rugby Test at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and it will be the Springboks' first Test against the All Blacks in that city since 1970. To mark the occasion, the captain of the Boks in that Test, Hannes Marais, has arranged a reunion. "All the guys will be there expect perhaps for Mof (Myburgh)," said Nomis. "Mof's not well. I hope he's gonna make it. He's just had a heart attack. I really hope to see him there. The other bloke who may not be there is Jan Ellis. He's a bit reluctant to go to these functions."

THE GOLDEN Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) this week suspended Edenvale's Panthers Rugby Club from all club activities following a complaint of racism from the Soweto Rugby Club. "This will be subject to further and additional actions as all evidence and reports have been submitted to the union's disciplinary committee for further consideration," the GLRU said in a statement. It got Tightheads' wondering how the suspended club could perhaps play under the auspices of the GLRU. A name change to the "Black Panthers" might do the trick, although the baseball bats and knuckle dusters might need to be retrieved from the back of the cupboard.