Lions vs Griquas 2015 by South African Rugby Magazines

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CONTENTS president’s message

XEROX message

BROTHERS IN ARMS

XEROX GOLDEN LIONS PLAYER pictures

XEROX GOLDEN LIONS VS ORC GRIQUAS - 16H05

BRED FROM THE SAME STOCK

CURTAIN RAISER U/19

curtain raiser u/21

Lions SQUAD LIST

FIXTURES

PUBLISHER: Annemie Bester • EDITOR: Wim van der Berg • GRAPHIC DESIGN: Apple Undo • ADVERTISING: Annemie Bester GLRU MEDIA LIASON: Annemie Bester • PHOTOGRAPHY: Deon van der Merwe - www.deonvandermerwe.co.za

www.lionsrugby.co.za

Cell: 083 604 0389 • wimvdb@iafrica.com

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Welcome to Emirates Airline Park this afternoon Welcome to Emirates Airline Park for this Currie Cup match between the Xerox Golden Lions and ORC Griquas. Encounters between these two teams are always tough and today’s game will be no different. A special word of welcome to the President of Griquas, management, coaching staff and players. To our Chief Executive Officer Rudolf Straeuli and Equity Partner Altmann Ahlers as well as our Currie Cup title sponsors Xerox and their staff good luck for the day’s activities. We all join in applauding our team for their great performance last weekend against Western Province and for keeping our undefeated record intact. A big word of thanks to Johan Ackermann, Swys de Bruin and the rest of our coaching and medical staff and of course our team that are moving us forward to one of the best seasons in Lions Rugby post 1995. Good luck to both teams and we trust that this will be an injury free and enjoyable game for all concerned. Good luck to the appointed referees, your officiating and contributions remain one of the most important parts of the game. Allow me a heartfelt word of thanks and appreciation to all our sponsors. Sponsorships are an essential element of professional sport and the beautiful game of rugby, which we all love so much, would not be able to flourish without loyal sponsors. Most importantly welcome and thank you to our dear supporters – know that your ongoing support is vital for us as a team and organisation. Please keep up the support that our team always needs, it is a huge boost for them to know we are all behind them. Enjoy the day with us here at Emirates Airline Park and come back soon. Kevin de Klerk President: Golden Lions Rugby Union www.lionsrugby.co.za 5

video

xerox message

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO OF BYTES DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS With just one round robin match remaining in this year’s Currie Cup competition, the Xerox Golden Lions have an unassailable lead on the points table. It will be the Blue Bulls and Western Province who will battle it out for second place. Last Friday it was revenge for the Xerox Golden Lions with a convincing victory where they beat Province 62 – 32 and smashed through the 50-point barrier for the second time in two weeks. It was Lions rugby at its best and another victorious display of running rugby, something that the Springboks could have emulated in the game against Scotland. With that victory, the Xerox Golden Lions moved nine points clear of the Blue Bulls, with Province a further four points adrift. Remarkably, the Xerox Golden Lions have a points difference of +203, compared to the Blue Bulls with +103. It has been a fantastic season for Johan Ackermann and his team, having only missed out on a bonus point in one match and remaining unbeaten in nine outings. Saturday afternoon will be an exciting match and the Xerox Lions are looking forward to retaining their leading score. I know that expectations are high within the team to perform over the next three weeks and I take this opportunity to thank all our fans for their unwavering support. The team has performed with great credit during this season and all their fans have relished the excitement generated by their performance. We have taken great pride in the achievements of our Xerox Golden Lions and wish them every success in the semifinals next week. Let’s give them all our support to pull them through to the finals. Johan Basson CEO of Bytes Document Solutions www.lionsrugby.co.za 7

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Jaco and Gerdus van der Walt

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S R E H BROT

IN ARMS

A GREAT MOMENT FOR BROTHERS JACO AND GERDUS By: Annemie Bester

Brothers Jaco and Gerdus van der Walt will run out together in the biggest match yet when they represent the Xerox Golden Lions in the Currie Cup against Griquas at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday. Jaco will play flyhalf while younger brother Gerdus will don the number 12 jersey for this encounter, the last of the pool stages for the unbeaten Lions. The pair were also in action together in one match in the Vodacom Cup earlier in the year against the Griffons while they also played together for Hoërskool Monument in Jaco’s matric year when Gerdus was in grade 11. The Van der Walt brothers were born in Potchefstroom but moved to Randfontein when they were still toddlers. A few years later the family moved to Krugersdorp where they matriculated at the famous rugby school widely known as Monnas. “This is a big game for us, playing together in the Currie Cup for the first time ever. I represented the Lions Under-21 side this year while Jaco was with the senior side. It is a great honour to play together in a game like this,” said Gerdus.

Gerdus has been playing inside and outside centre but prefers to be at inside if he has a say. Jaco has always been a flyhalf but has on occasion also helped out at fullback for the seniors. Since he started playing and watching rugby with earnest he has admired the All Black centre Sonny Bill Williams while Springbok Frans Steyn is also one of his idols. The two Van der Walt brothers love to relax with family and friends when they need time away from the rugby field. “We have a home next to the Vaal Dam and we love spending time there with family and loved ones, having a braai and just chilling next to the water,” says Gerdus. Gerdus represented the Golden Lions at Craven Week in 2013 and the year thereafter he started with the Lions Under-19s. Jaco also went to the Craven Week in 2011 and 2012 and in both years he was selected for the SA Schools side. In 2012 he also represented the Lions Under-19 team and from there gradually climbed the ladder to the top, finally representing the men from the city of gold in Super Rugby during 2015.

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player pictures â&#x20AC;˘ XEROX golden LIONS Vs orc GRIQUAS

FABIAN BOOYSEN

Robbie Coetzee

Bobby de Wee

Steph de Witt

Selom Gavor

Lohan Jacobs

Ruaan Lerm

MB Lusaseni

Sampie Mastriet

Martin Muller

Jacques Nel www.lionsrugby.co.za 15

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PLAYER PICTURES • XEROX GOLDEN LIONS VS ORC GRIQUAS

MARK PRETORIUS

MARK RICHARDS

PIETER SCHOLTZ

RICKY SCHROEDER (C)

DYLAN SMITH

KWAGGA SMITH

JACQUES VAN ROOYEN

GERDUS VAN DER WALT

JACO VAN DER WALT

ROHAN JANSE VAN RENSBURG

VAINON WILLIS www.lionsrugby.co.za 17

15 Vainon Willis 11 Mark Richards

MATCH O Referee: A AR1: Jaco Va AR2: Franco TMO: Joha

14 Sampie Mastriet

13 Jacques Nel 12 Gerdus van der Walt 10 Jaco van der Walt 9 Ricky Schroeder 7 Fabian Booysen

8 Ruaan Lerm

5 Martin Muller 3 Pieter Scholtz

6 Kwagga Smith

4 MB Lusaseni

2 Robbie Coetzee

1 Dylan Smith

Saturday, 10 October 2015

Replacements: 16. Mark Pretorius • 17. Jacques van Rooyen • 18. Bobby de Wee 19. Stephan de Witt • 20. Lohan Jacobs 21. Rohan Janse van Rensburg • 22. Selom Gavor Head Coach: Johan Ackermann • Manager: Mustapha Boomgaard 18 www.lionsrugby.co.za

15 GOUWS PRINSLOO

OFFICIALS AJ Jacobs an Heerden ois Pretorius an Greeff

14 SANDILE NGCOBO

11 NTABENI DUKISA 13 Ruhan Nel

12 Clinton Swart 10 Francois Brummer 9 Tian Meyer (C) 6 RJ Liebenberg 8 Carel Greeff 7 Jono Janse van Rensburg 4 Jonathan Adendorf 1 DANIE MIENIE

5 Hugo Kloppers

2 SIDNEY TOBIAS 3 Stephan Kotze Kick-off: 16h05

Replacements: 16. AJ Le Roux • 17. Steph Roberts • 18. Stephan Greeff 19. Wendal Wehr • 20. Dylon Frylinck 21. Johnathan Francke • 22. Riaan Viljoen Head Coach: Hawies Fourie • Team Manager: Martin Coetzee www.lionsrugby.co.za 19

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Bred from the sam By: Piet Ebersohn Bred to some degree from the same stock, the competitive history of the Golden Lions and Griquas spans more than 125 year. In the late 1800s many top rugby players who represented the then Griqualand West migrated from the diamond fields of Kimberley to the newly discovered Witwatersrand gold fields and contributed strongly to the establishment and 22 www.lionsrugby.co.za

growth of the game in the Transvaal, forerunner of the Golden Lions. These players included a fair sprinkling of national players including Bob Sneddon, Chubb Vigne, Toski Smith, Ferdy Aston, Hubert Gorton, Charlie Jones, Andrew Morkel and Sid de Melker. Sneddon and Aston captained South Africa and lead both Griquas and Transvaal.

in Kimberley who sought their fortune at the Rand gold fields. The name was taken from the then popular Gilbert and Sullivan musical The Pirates of Penzance. The legacy is also evident in the union’s flagship club competition, the Pirates Grand Challenge. When Pirates won the original Imroth Cup three times in a row in the 1890s after losing the first final to Pretoria, it became the property of the club who donated it to the Transvaal Rugby Football Union (TRFU) on condition that it be named after the club. • In those early years Griquas, with the diamond fields still in its heydays, were the stronger of the two unions. The two teams first met in 1889 in the then SA Rugby Board (SARB) competition and Griquas won 4-3. A try counted only one point in those days. Playing in front of an “immense” crowd in Kimberley, according to the Transvaal Advertiser, Transvaal was ahead 3-0 within ten minutes with Louis Vincent scoring a try. Loftus Versfeld, after whom the Blue Bulls headquarters have been called later, converted it.

me stock The Griqualand West legacy is still manifest in the local Pirates club that was founded in 1888 by a group of former players of the Pirates club

Late in the first half J Brown scored a try for Griquas to close the gap to 3-1 at halftime. It was only two minutes from the final whistle that F Alexander scored a try for Griquas, and Bob Sneddon converted it. When the first British touring team visited South Africa in 1891, they presented a cup donated by shipping magnate Sir Donald Currie to the team who performed best against the tourists.

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It was awarded to Griquas, who presented it to the SARB to be played for in an interprovincial competition. Thus the iconic Currie Cup competition came into being. Griquas won the first Currie Cup match against Transvaal in Kimberley in 1892 16-5. According to the Diamond Fields Advertiser the match was played in intense heat. Sneddon, now donning the Red and White, scored Transvaal’s try towards the end of the match, and Springbok fullback Mosey van Buuren converted it. J Clinton scored two tries for Griquas and international Arthur de Kock the other. G Elliot (also a Griquas selector!) converted one and added a penalty. Another SA player, Harry Boyes, also converted a try.

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Transvaal managed to beat Griquas for the first time in the Currie Cup tournament of 1897 in Port Elizabeth, although The Star called it a lucky win. The score was 3-0. The newspaper reported that Griquas “had the best of the match”. The halftime score was 0-0 but the Transvaal captain, Robert Johnstone, kicked the winning penalty late in the match. On the wing for Transvaal that day was Willie Collins of Pretoria, later to become a minister of agriculture in the cabinet of the then Union of South Africa. Of the ten Currie Cup matches the two teams played from 1892 until 1916 (not counting the Board Trophy competition of 1889) Griquas won seven and Transvaal two. The match of 1906 was drawn 3-3. Biggest wins were 16-0 to Griquas in 1898 and 6-0 to Transvaal in 1908.

It was not until 1920 that Transvaal started to get the upper hand when they beat Griquas 11-0. From 1920 until 1972 the two teams met 15 times in the competition for the Currie Cup. Transvaal won 13 matches, Griquas one, and one was drawn. Transvaal’s biggest win was 36-3 in 1936 and Griquas’ only win came in 1929 when they beat Transvaal 12-0. When Griquas won the Currie Cup in 1970 for the first time since 1911 the competition was structured in such a way that they did not meet with Transvaal. The next year it was Transvaal who knocked the reigning champion out of the competition by beating them 29-17 in a play-off in Kimberley. Rapport reported that within 12 minutes Griquas were 11-0 up, but the Transvaal’s forwards, led superbly by Springbok Piet Greyling and with one of the Griquas heroes of the previous year, Jannie van Aswegen, then playing in the Red and White, they eventually got the upper hand. Bok centre Peter Cronjé dotted down twice for Transvaal, and fullback Jannie van Deventer kicked four conversions and a penalty (11 points). • In 1972 Transvaal again shattered Griquas’ Currie Cup dreams in Kimberley in probably the most controversial match between the two teams. Transvaal won 16-14 but newspaper reports were unanimous that Transvaal was very lucky to be victorious. The debate about a number of referee Ben Calitz’ decisions raged on for weeks. Rapport was adamant that he robbed Griquas – who scored two tries to one – of victory. The reporter counted 11 “inconceivable” penalties against Griquas. Early in the match Transvaal prop Theo

Sauermann tackled an erstwhile teammate, Griquas scrumhalf Gert Schutte, off the ball and according to reports kicked him on the ankle. Schutte, one of the kingpins of the Griquas team, was off the field for ten minutes and wasn’t at his best when he returned. The incident was unseen by the referee and Sauermann went unpunished. Die Volksblad also pointed out that “only the referee knew” why he disallowed a try under the posts by Griquas stalwart Peet Smith. Minutes from the final whistle Transvaal hooker Robbie Barnard went off-side in a loose scrum on his own 10-metre and well within Smith’s kicking range. The home-crowd saw visions of him kicking the winning penalty like he did two years before in the Currie Cup final. However, Calitz did not award a penalty to Griquas, but blew the final whistle four minutes early. Chaos erupted and according to Rapport it was “no wonder” that the referee was jostled and struck by some furious spectators. When the Currie Cup was split in an A and a B section in the late 1970s Griquas ended up in the B Section and for more than two decades there were no Currie Cup matches between the two old rivals. • In the professional era the Gauteng/Golden Lions and Griquas met in 26 matches since 1998. The Lions won 18 and Griquas eight. The Lions’ biggest win was 51-11 (2005). Griquas won 36-16 in 1998. The last time the two teams met in a Currie Cup match (2014) the Golden Lions won 46-8 in Kimberley. Ruan Combrinck scored a try, five conversions and two penalties to add 21 points, and Jaco Kriel crossed for two tries. (With grateful thanks to the Lions statistician Piet Landman for his input) www.lionsrugby.co.za 25

CURTAIN-RAISERs Golden Lions U/19

leopards u/19

KICK-OFF: 11h15 Golden Lions Under 19

Leopards Under 19

15 Barend Smit 14 Johan Vermaak 13 Johannes Van Tonder 12 Paul De Beer 11 Stean Pienaar 10 Hendrick Mulder 9 Wynand Botha/Tristan Eve 8 Jo-Hanco De Villiers 7 Juandre Michau 6 Morney Moos 5 Reinhard Nothnagel 4 Kevin Du Randt 3 Koos Tredoux 2 Le Roux Baard 1 Tijde Visser

15 Rashard Fuller 14 Marco Donges 13 Wilbri Gunter 12 Benhard Janse Van rensburg 11 Zweli Silaule 10 Siyabonga Masuku 9 Nkosana Mathaba (vc) 8 Edward Haas 7 Dieter Leicher 6 Henry Searle 5 Zandre Du Plessis (c) 4 Eon Buhrmann 3 Komape Moloto 2 Roodt Van Zyl 1 Bhekisa Shongwe

Replacements 16 McMillan Muller 17 Henco Smit 18 Mitchell Fraser 19 Len Massyn 20 James Venter 21 Curtis Jonas 22 Arno Maree/Tshepo Thulo 23 Kenneth Van Niekerk

Replacements 16 Ruan Groenewald 17 Robert Hunt / Danie Van Wyk 18 Roos Van Breda 19 Francois Stemmet 20 Juan-dre Van der Walt 21 De wet Terblanche 22 Tapiwa Mafura 23 Kevin Booth

CURTAIN-RAISERs Golden Lions U/21

Leopards u/21

KICK-OFF: 13h30 Golden Lions Under 21

Leopards Under 21

15 Kobus Engelbrecht 14 Godfrey Ramaboea 13 Cameron Rooi 12 Koch Marx 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi 10 Shaun Reynolds 9 Christiaan Meyer 8 Jano Venter 7 Ruan Ackermann 6 Cyle Brink 5 JP Du Preez 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Kyle Kruger 2 Ramone Samuels (C) 1 Clinton Theron

15 Myburgh Briers (C) 14 Francois Nel 13 Jaco Hayward 12 AK Nela 11 Dean Stokes 10 Gene Willemse 9 Chriswill September 8 Estehan Visagie 7 Jeandre Rudolph 6 Gideon Van der Merwe 5 Dee-J Putter 4 Joshua Van Niekerk 3 Roan Grobbelaar 2 Roche Steenkamp 1 Francois Jacobs

Replacements 16 Pieter Jansen 17 Arnout Malherbe 18 Victor Sekekete 19 Thabo Mabuza 20 Steven Du Plessis 21 James Campbell 22 Caswell Khoza

Replacements 16 Gerrie Le Roux 17 JC Hulley 18 Dolf Van Deventer 19 Stephan Malan 20 Sydney Du Plessis 21 Dalen Goliath 22 Alvino Montjies www.lionsrugby.co.za 29

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SQUADS • XEROX golden LIONS Vs ORC GRIQUAS

Xerox Golden Lions squad Justin Ackerman • Fabian Booysen • Marnitz Boshoff • Andries Coetzee • Robbie Coetzee Ruan Combrinck • Ross Cronje • Stephan De Witt • Ruan Dreyer • Lourens Eramus Stokkies Hanekom • Alwyn Hollenbach • Lohan Jacobs • Jaco Kriel • Ruaan Lerm MB Lusaseni • Malcolm Marx • Sampie Mastriet • Derick Minnie • Howard Mnisi Franco Mostert • Martin Muller • Jacques Nel • Mark Pretorius • Julian Redelinghuys Mark Richards • Rick Schroeder • Courtnall Skosan • Kwagga Smith • Jaco Van der Walt Jacques Van Rooyen • Anthony Volmink • Harold Vorster • Vainon Willis • Lourens Erasmus

Xerox Golden Lions TEAM MANAGEMENT HEAD COACH: JOHAN ACKERMANN ASSISTANT COACH: SWYS DE BRUIN ASSISTANT COACH (Defence): JP Ferreira TEAM MANAGER: MUSTAPHA BOOMGAARD ASSISTANT TEAM MANAGER: JOHANE SINGWANE TEAM DOCTOR: DR ROB COLLINS • PHYSIOTHERAPIST: DAVID VAN WYK STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH: IVAN VAN ROOYEN TECHNICAL/PERFORMANCE ANALYST: JP FERREIRA

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ABSA CURRIE CUP RUGBY FIXTURES AUGUST 2015 08