Lions Match Programme

Official Match Programme

Emirates Lions vs Toyota Cheetahs Saturday 19 March 2016 17:05

45353/LIONS/PT

The Official Sports Drink of

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CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM KEVIN DE KLERK, GLRU’S PRESIDENT

5

EMIRATES MESSAGE

7

VODACOM MESSAGE

9

PROFILE: KEVIN DE KLERK

10

EMIRATES LIONS VS TOYOTA CHEETAHS

14

CURTAIN RAISER: SCHOOLS

17

SCHOOLS PLAY AT EMIRATES AIRLINE PARK

19

GLRU-DLALA NJE TAKE HANDS

20

FREEZE FRAME

22

FIXTURES

25

Publishers: Rugbyvaria Editor: Annemie Bester Graphic Design: Reneé Naudé

Advertising: Annemie Bester

GLRU Media and PR Manager: Annemie Bester Photographer: Deon van der Merwe Website: lionsrugby.co.za

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE • 5 www.lionsrugby.co.za

WELCOME TO EMIRATES AIRLINE PARK, HOME OF THE EMIRATES LIONS WE WELCOME OUR friends from the Toyota Cheetahs here today, Lindsay Mould and his staff, as well as the coaching staff of Franco Smith and his team.

Clashes between our selves and the Cheetahs have always been an epic one with both teams playing a game of running and epic rugby.

A big thank you is extended to Vodacom for making this exciting competition possible.

A heartfelt thank you to each and every sponsor and partner for your support and especially thank you to Emirates, our team sponsor. It is an honour and privilege to have you backing us.Your support, on all levels, is invaluable and we are proud to have you as not only our team sponsor but our partner and friend.

Today we will have two schools in action: Hoërskool Monument and HTS Louis Botha, a local school and one from Cheetah country. I want to laud our CEO Rudolf Straeuli for this initiative which will see school boy rugby in all our Vodacom Super Rugby curtain raisers.

Our team is back from the first overseas leg of their competition and we are very proud of their performances abroad.

Good luck to Johan Ackermann and his management and team, we know you will make us proud.

Please remember to visit our website www.lionsrugby.co.za for all your Lions rugby news.

Enjoy the day with us.

Kevin de Klerk.

President: GLRU

DDB SA 43875/E

Hello Tomorrow

emirates.com/.za Over 50 destinations in Asia w Over 30 destinations in Europe w Over 20 destinations in Africa Over 10 destinations in the Americas w Over 5 destinations in Australasia

EMIRATES MESSAGE • 7 www.lionsrugby.co.za

MESSAGE FROM

EMIRATES THE 2016 SUPER Rugby season has started off on a high note with all participating teams showing great ambition and skill so far in this year’s tournament. As the Title Sponsor of the Emirates Lions, we look forward to another exciting Super Rugby season.

It is a great privilege for Emirates to be associated with rugby, a sport that commands such a great following across many of our markets. The excitement we saw in our first year of involvement in Super Rugby in 2015, and the growth of the tournament this year to include teams from South America and Japan, reassures us that our decision to be

part of the Super Rugby tournament is perfectly aligned to our brand promise of connecting people with their passion.

As one of the Emirates Lions’ loudest and proudest fans, we look forward to hosting all the teams and their fans at our home - Emirates Airline Park and wish the Emirates Lions every success in the season ahead. Enjoy the game.

Orhan Abbas Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Latin American, Central and Southern Africa

Sign up or upgrade and you could win a trip for two to the Vodacom Super Rugby final Register on the All Out Rugby app to complete your entry and stand a chance to win. vodacom.co.za/rugby

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Standard terms and conditions apply. Contract deals are subject to signing a new 24-month Vodacom Contract. VAT inclusive. E&OE.

VODACOM MESSAGE • 9 www.lionsrugby.co.za

2016 VODACOM SUPER RUGBY BRINGING

MIND-BLOWING ACTION SOUTH AFRICANS ARE the most passionate and loyal supporters and Vodacom has made it their game plan to create the best fan experiences for the 2016 Vodacom Super Rugby season.

Thanks to a number of innovative initiatives supporters will have a front-row seat to the action wherever they are in the world.

Vodacom will put fans onside with the All Out Rugby App, powered by Vodacom, and the vodacomrugby. co.za portal that will give them blowby-blow analysis of every game.

By downloading the All Out Rugby App, users are a touch and a swipe away from features such as up to date stats from every match.

Follow the action at #AllOutRugby

In the unfortunate event of missing a match highlights clips of every weekend’s games will be available on the App. Vodacom will also introduce the Tries for Books campaign where they will donate R7000 for every try scored by a South African team towards setting up e-libraries and donating books to schools.

Rugby fans are encouraged to donate books at stadiums around the country which will be distributed to schools in need.

More awesome initiatives will be rolled out throughout the season to keep supporters on the ball.

Melanie Forbes Managing Executive: CBU Gauteng

KEVIN DE KLERK • 10

Lock partners Moaner van Heerden and Kevin de Klerk in Digger colours

KEVIN HAS WALKED THE WALK

By Andre Bester

KEVIN BRIAN HENRY DE KLERK has been there and done that. The forceful figure, the current president of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, played in 13 Tests for his country, in more than 100 games for the then Transvaal and probably double that in club rugby.

De Klerk has walked the walk and has got the T-shirts of clubs such as Union, where he made his senior debut at the tender age of only 17, at Pretoria Defence, where he partnered the great Frik du Preez at only 19, and at Diggers and Alberton, where he played from 1971 to 1984.

De Klerk was still a scholar at Hill High in the south of Johannesburg

when he joined Union and he immediately made the Transvaal Under-20 team, even before he played in two Craven Weeks for the Union. Â When he did his national service in Pretoria he found himself among men such as oom Frik, and Springboks Piston van Wyk, Kleintjie Grobler and Thys Lourens, all legends in Blue Bulls country.

Back in Johannesburg after a tough baptism in the Carlton Cup, De Klerk was recruited to play for the Afrikaans club in the south, the legendary Diggers which attracted super stars like a magnet, remembers De Klerk.

KEVIN DE KLERK • 12

www.lionsrugby.co.za

There was a stage that no fewer than 14 members of Diggers were selected for a Transvaal team, and some of his team-mates included Springbok locks Klippies Kritzinger and Moaner van Heerden, and Springbok front-rowers Sakkie Sauermann, Dave Frederickson and Johan “Pottie” Strauss.

He remembers Gert Muller as the best winger he ever saw; Peter Cronjé as one of the best centres of his time; and the halfbacks, Gerald Bosch and Paul Bayvel became household names in South African rugby.

HE WAS A member of a Diggers side, captained by the Springbok captain Piet Greyling when they set two world records in a club game against Alberton at Ellis Park.

They set a SA record by beating Alberton 124-0 (22 tries) in 1972 and set another record when all 15 players scored tries in this match. At one stage Muller crossed the try-line and waved one of the props through to score his try.

Much later, in 1980, when the Springboks played the South American Jaguars at the Wanderers, four of the five members of the Green and Gold tight five, himself, Sauermann, Frederickson and Strauss, were member of Diggers.

It has probably never been done before and certainly will never be done again.

De Klerk played his last few years out at Alberton where he retired in 1984 and coached for four seasons.

CLUB RUGBY IS close to his heart and helped shape his own wonderful career. It made him street smart, says De Klerk, and helped foster great friendships.

He was a member of the Four Musketeers, with Richard Prentiss, Pottie Strauss and Klippies Kritzinger, and while they won’t all be present when the Lions return to their roots and play Currie Cup games at both Diggers and Alberton, De Klerk will be proud to watch the historic occasions.

It was Diggers and Jim Foley that helped shape him for a wonderful career.

International career: 13 Tests Best all-round lock partner: Frik du Preez Best line-out opponent: John Williams

KEVIN DE KLERK FACTS: Born: 6th of June 1950 Transvaal debut: 10th July 1971 Gazelle debut: 22 September 1972 Springbok debut: 8 June 1974 Provincial career: 1971-1984: 107 games for Lions, 1979 one game for Natal

28 www.lionsrugby.co.za

EMIRATES LIONS

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Andries Coetzee Ruan Combrinck Lionel Mapoe Howard Mnisi Courtnall Skosan Elton Jantjies Faf De Klerk Warren Whiteley (capt.)

Ruan Ackermann Jaco Kriel Franco Mostert Andries Ferreira Julian Redelinghuys Malcolm Marx Dylon Smith

Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe 17 Corne Fourie 18 Ruan Dreyer 19 Lourens Erasmus 20 Robert Kruger 21 Dillon Smit 22 Jaco van der Walt 23 Rohan Janse Van Rensburg Coaches: Johan Ackermann, Swys de Bruin

19 MARCH 2016

TOYOTA CHEETAHS

15 14 13 12 11 10

Clayton Blommetjies Sergeal Pietersen Francois Venter (capt.)

William Small-Smith Raymond Rhule Neil Marais

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Shaun venter Henco Venter Uzair Cassiem Paul Schoeman Lood de Jager Carl Wegner Maks van Dyk Torsten van Jaarsveld Charles Marais

Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit 17 Ox Nche 18 Johan Coetzee 19 Francois Uys 20 Hilton Lobberts 21 Boom Prinsloo 22 Tian Meyer 23 Fred Zeilinga Coaches: Franco Smith (Head Coach), Corniel van Zyl, Daan Human

KICK-OFF: 17:05

THE POWER OF INTEGRATION Fidelity has a tight grip on Security

GUARDING SERVICES • Shopping Centre and Retail • Commercial and Industrial • Residential and Golf Estates • Hospitality • Casino and Gaming • Ports and Airports • Events and VIP Services • Oil and Gas • Healthcare and Education • Government • Banks and Financial Institutions

FIDELITY CASH SOLUTIONS • Cash-In-Transit • Cash Processing

• Retail Cash Solutions • Specialised Security

ARMED RESPONSE SERVICES • 24 Hour Monitoring Services

SPECIALISED SECURITY • Events and VIP Security • Tactical Air and Ground Support • Mining Security • Intelligence • Strikes and Labour Unrest

ELECTRONIC SOLUTIONS • System Designs

• Electronic Intruder Detection Systems • Perimeter Protection • Access Control System • Closed Circuit Television Systems (CCTV) • Guard Monitoring Systems

PARKING MANAGEMENT SERVICES NATIONAL COMMAND CENTRE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

CURTAIN RAISER KICK-OFF: 14:30 HOËRSKOOL MONUMENT 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dandre Prinsloo Karel Vahrmeijer Reyno Potgieter MJ Pelser Arno van der Westhuizen Luke Rossouw Tinus Combrinck PJ Jacobs Cristen van Niekerk Kevin le Roux Ruan Vermaak Christopher Havenga Dewald Schoeman PJ Botha (kapt.)

Nathan McBeth

HTS LOUIS BOTHA 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Rethabile Mzamo Martin Lottering Marvin Ruiters Rallston Dreyer Gustav Kok Mfezeko Moyo Keaton Swarts Ayabonga Ntaba Jabulani Mtshatsheni Songezo Ngozi Brently Marais Luwaca Siyabonga Christopher Rolomana Bradley Heyns Gela Kanya

REPLACEMENTS: 16 Larko Linde 17 Coenraad Vrey 18 Jandre Botha 19 Juandre Judeel 20 Louwtjie Dyson 21 Brenden Buitendagch 22 Jonathan Rabie 23 Dylan Wood

REPLACEMENTS: 16 Dewald de Wet 17 Bokang Molutsi 18 Kagisho Marumo 19 Teboho Rampai 20 Anathi Shenxane 21 Jacques Money 22 Bongo Gashi 23 Gomolemo Matlho

Head coach: Hans Coetzee

Head coach: Corné Erasmus

www.lionsrugby.co.za 33

SCHOOLS RUGBY • 19 www.lionsrugby.co.za

TOP-CLASS SCHOOLS RUGBY AT EMIRATES AIRLINE PARK

By Annemie Bester

A feast of schools rugby awaits the Golden Lions faithful after the return of their team for their home stretch at the Emirates Airline Park, kicking off with two top schools from Lions and Cheetahs country setting the table for Saturday’s big clash in Johannesburg.

The Hoërskool Monument, for many years now the premier high school within the Lions’ borders, will meet the enterprising Louis Botha Technical High from Bloemfontein in the main curtain raiser.

Four mouth-watering school games have been secured as the main appetisers for the games against the Crusaders, Hurricanes and Blues.

It’s definitely not an April fool’s joke, but KES and Helpmekaar are set to meet in a curtain raiser for the Crusader clash, while Kempton Park and Transvalia will meet before the Lions kick-off against the Hurricanes.

Parktown Boys and St Benedict’s will play in the curtain raiser to the Blues clash in May.

FIXTURES 19 March 2016 14:30 kick-off Emirates Lions vs.Toyota Cheetahs HTS Louis Botha vs. Monument HS 1 April 2016 16:30 kick-off Emirates Lions vs. Crusaders KES vs. Helpmekaar HS 30 April 2016 14:30 kick-off Emirates Lions vs. Hurricanes Kempton Park HS vs.Transvalia HS 14 May 2016 16:30 kick-off Emirates Lions vs. Blues Parktown Boys vs. St Benedict’s

DLALA NJE • 20 www.lionsrugby.co.za

GLRU AND DLALA NJE TAKE HANDS

The Golden Lions Company is always on the look-out for ways to improve our home and immediate surroundings and we are happy to announce that we found a partner in this venture called Dlala Nje. Dlala Nje, meaning ‘Just Play’, is a social enterprise based in the once notorious Ponte City.

As everyone knows Hillbrow isn’t really a place where kids can be kids. Dlala Nje offers a safe, diverse and engaging environment where they provide a place where children can experience new things and awaken their passions. A place where talent is nurtured and confidence built. Their current activities include ballet, drums, guitar and yoga.

Education is vital, but it isn’t always easy to come by. Dlala Nje provides free computers and internet access, homework facilitation, art classes and an environment for kids to reach their potential.

They help people help themselves with the help of dynamic partners and amazing volunteers.

The Dlala Nje foundation not only creates opportunities for the youth in their area, but their iconic building also forms the starting point of Dlala Nje’s walking tours. Dlala Nje’s inner city adventures take groups on walks through Yeoville, Hillbrow and Berea – areas considered unsafe to visit, never mind walk through. Walking through these inner city neighbourhoods, stereotypes are broken, and your mind is opened to the realities of migrant life in the city.

“Our inner city adventures and immersive experiences provide a platform for challenging the preconceived ideas that most people have of the áreas in which we work. The history of Hillbrow is infamous and there are many social issues that have historically plagued this community. However, as one of the first landing spots for foreign Africans who are hoping to better their lives in the City of Gold, it is a melting pot of culture. Dlala Nje aims to show people the truth about these notorious suburbs; through an unforgettable adventure where thinking is challenged and comfort zones are stepped out of,” said Michal Luptak, co-founder and managing director of Dlala Nje. You’ll meet locals, drink quarts at a local bar and even get to go down to the core of Ponte – quite an experience in itself.

FREEZEFRAME

Photo: GB Jordaan

DLALA NJE • 23 www.lionsrugby.co.za

This is a city tour with a conscience.

“The Golden Lions Company recognises that it operates in a complex social environment. Working closely with organisations like Dlala Nje, we aim to better understand the communities and the complexities around us,” said CEO of the Golden Lions, Rudolf Straeuli.

The Golden Lions Company is always on the look-out for ways to improve our home and immediate surroundings and we are happy to announce that we found a partner in this venture called Dlala Nje. Dlala Nje, meaning ‘Just Play’, is a social enterprise based in the once notorious Ponte City.

As everyone knows Hillbrow isn’t really a place where kids can be kids. Dlala Nje offers a safe, diverse and engaging environment where they provide a place where children can experience new things and awaken their passions. A place where talent is nurtured and confidence built.

Their current activities include ballet, drums, guitar and yoga.

Education is vital, but it isn’t always easy to come by. Dlala Nje provides free computers and internet access, homework facilitation, art classes and an environment for kids to reach their potential.

They help people help themselves with the help of dynamic partners and amazing volunteers.

The Dlala Nje foundation not only creates opportunities for the youth in their area, but their iconic building also forms the

starting point of Dlala Nje’s walking tours.

Dlala Nje’s inner city adventures take groups on walks through Yeoville, Hillbrow and Berea – areas considered unsafe to visit, never mind walk through. Walking through these inner city neighbourhoods, stereotypes are broken, and your mind is opened to the realities of migrant life in the city.

“Our inner city adventures and immersive experiences provide a platform for challenging the preconceived ideas that most people have of the áreas in which we work. The history of Hillbrow is infamous and there are many social issues that have historically plagued this community. However, as one of the first landing spots for foreign Africans who are hoping to better their lives in the City of Gold, it is a melting pot of culture. Dlala Nje aims to show people the truth about these notorious suburbs; through an unforgettable adventure where thinking is challenged and comfort zones are stepped out of,” said Michal Luptak, co-founder and managing director of Dlala Nje. You’ll meet locals, drink quarts at a local bar and even get to go down to the core of Ponte – quite an experience in itself.

This is a city tour with a conscience.

“The Golden Lions Company recognises that it operates in a complex social environment. Working closely with organisations like Dlala Nje, we aim to better understand the communities and the complexities around us,” said CEO of the Golden Lions, Rudolf Straeuli.

JHB 48467

BREWED WITH PURE

SOUTH AFRICAN PASSION It all comes together with a CASTLE.

Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18.

24 www.lionsrugby.co.za

EMIRATES LIONS SUPER RUGBY

FIXTURES AND RESULTS 2016 FEBRUARY 27

Sunwolves vs Emirates Lions 13–26

Tokyo

MARCH 5 12 19

Chiefs vs Emirates Lions 32–36 Highlanders vs Emirates Lions 34–15 Emirates Lions vs Toyota Cheetahs

Hamilton Dunedin Emirates Airline Park

APRIL 1 9 16 23 30

Emirates Lions vs Crusaders Sharks vs Emirates Lions Emirates Lions vs DHL Stormers Southern Kings vs Emirates Lions Emirates Lions vs Hurricanes

Emirates Airline Park Kings Park Emirates Airline Park Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Emirates Airline Park

MAY 14 21 28

Emirates Lions vs Blues Emirates Lions vs Jaguares Vodacom Bulls vs Emirates Lions

Emirates Airline Park Emirates Airline Park Loftus Versfeld

JULY 2

Emirates Lions vs Sharks

Emirates Airline Park

8

Emirates Lions vs Southern Kings

Emirates Airline Park

16

Jaguares vs Emirates Lions

Beunos Aires

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