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ROOF OF AFRICA WADE YOUNG all revved up

health 10 Fitness Myths | Blood and sport Summer Fish Diet | Paolo Di Canio’s Madness

Our sport science feature explores blood and how it can treat injuries through plateletrich plasma (PRP) therapy. Is it too good to be true? We bust 10 common fitness myths plaguing gyms worldwide to get you training right, and give you some tips for taking on the upcoming Argus and Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge.

As always, this November edition of SHM is jam-packed: the greatest cricket batsmen of all time, electric Formula 1 cars, South Africa’s own US Open

Warm Up

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

This month's highlights

We are half way between our 9-11 loss to Australia in the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup and kick-off on 18 September 2015 at Twickenham. Currently, South Africa is pooled with Samoa and Scotland, while teams from Asia and the Americas will take up the other two places. The Boks should be able to top their group the way they did in New Zealand two years ago, but can they go all the way as they did in 1995 and 2007?

We feature a special double bill of analysis for our boys in the green and gold. Read our report card on page 38, where we analyse the Springboks and the coach’s readiness for the 2015 World Cup. Are they on track? We also profile the team’s opposition for the imminent

European tour. What do we really know about Welsh, Scottish and French rugby?

We wanted to know why Sachin Tendulkar is not playing his 200th Test against South Africa and why the Board for Control of Cricket in India and Cricket South Africa are not seeing eye-to-eye. We find out who is really in control on page 58.

Motorsport fans can delve deep into the secrets inside the Formula 1 pit lane. James Roberts goes behind the scenes and explains just what it takes to keep a Formula 1 car on the track, looking at cars, the pitwall, and all the tech and gear.

Then we get onto two wheels when we catch up with Wade Young, the youngest ever winner of the gruelling and iconic Roof of Africa Enduro race.

What do Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, and Kevin Prince Boateng have in common? They are some of the best African footballers to be playing in the UEFA Champion’s League. We take a look at some of Africa’s best exports to the world’s top club football tournament.

tennis champion, nutrition, the good and bad sportsmanship of Italian footballer Paolo Di Canio, and much more.

We wrap up with a nostalgic look at the golden age of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, once the richest golf tournament in the world.

It started with a comment-inpassing by legendary golfer Lee Trevino, and 32 years later still attracts some of the world’s top golfers. Take a journey with us exploring the iconic “Million Dollar” and its celebrated, and often controversial, history.

Contents shm &

november 2013

Features

38 SPRINGBOK REPORT CARD LEAGUE: 44 CHAMPIONS 10 BEST AFRICAN PLAYERS rugby

football

38

We are half way to the 2015 World Cup. Gavin Rich assesses our chances, looks at the players’ strengths and weaknesses and the team’s potential overall.

58 WHO IS THIS BCCI? 64 IN THE PITS WITH THE CREW GAME IN FRANCE, 70 THE WALES & SCOTLAND cricket

Formula 1 rugby

58

Board of Control for Cricket in India. Firdose Moonda and Anand Vasu analyse the history of the spat between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket South Africa (CSA).

44

The 10 best African players in the Champions League. As the UEFA Champions League group stage reaches its climax in November, these are the 10 African stars Neil Greig predicts will shine the brightest.

NEWS

Story 8 Top JAKE WHITE IN the SHARK TANK

Action Replay 10 america's cup COME-BACK

12 News From The World Around 15 Rising Star HENDRICKS BEURAN GAME ON

84 FORMULA E 85 SA SPORTS AWARDS

90 TENNIS 91 GSPORTS 92 MOTORSPORT 93 CRICKET 94 CANOE

86 CLIMBING 87 CYCLING 88 BOXING MARATHON 88 ICE HOCKEY 94 AQUABIKE 89 RUGBY SEVENS

64

What does it take to get a Formula 1 car onto the grid?

James Roberts goes into the pits and shows us how much manpower, parts, time and money is required.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

116 Nedbank golf challenge golf History

november 2013 rEGULARS

6 Letters

By The Numbers 16 SA OPEN GOLF TRIBUTE 18 Gear 20 Book Review & giveaways the springbok factory

How To… 21 throw a JAB

22 School Sports news THE snyman FAMILY

motorcross Profile 52

WADE YOUNG

Formula E We offer you a preview of the new Formula E – formula cars powered solely by electric motors – being launched by FIA in September 2014 in Beijing.

Sportsmanship 112 PAOLO DI CANIO Of The Month 1 CARISSA 22 Sportswoman MOORE

1 BRADMAN 24 Head To Head VS TENDULKAR

84

GALLERIES Front Row View 28 Best Photos Of The Month

GYMNASTICS 78

GRACE & POWER Classic 126 ALAN DONALD

OPINION

From Left Field 24 Dan Nicholl

124

Who is the greatest batsman in the history of the game? We place Sachin Tendulkar and Donald Bradman head-to-head. You may be surprised.

96 Science: BLOOD & SPORT 102 Exercise:10 FITNESS MYTHS photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

105 fitness: KETTLEBELLS

110 exercise: cycle race tips

114 people: ROBIN JACKMAN’S CANCER SCARE

128 Fine Point RAVENS DARREN

102

If spot fat-reducing really worked, people who chew gum would have skinny faces. Read more from Stellensbosch Sports sscience Prof Elmarie Terblanche.

HEALTH

106 Nutrition: BRAIN FOOD 109 Review: Health Books

tussen vrinne 26

Pieter Redelinghuys

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy is being touted as an effective way to use an athlete’s own blood to speed recovery.

Find out more about the science behind it and who uses it.

96

Giveaway

letters

from the editor This has been an awesome sporting year, even if the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has denied us the twin joys of watching Tendulkar’s batting on SA soil and watching from the lawn at Newlands on New Year’s. As far as I am concerned, it has been almost a good enough year already and we could just call it quits and start 2014.

How so? Because we drubbed the Aussies twice in rugby, and Indian cricket or no Indian cricket, that is enough to make any South African smile.

And the beauty of the game when we went down to the All Blacks made the loss very palatable.

Now, one of the major reasons why the Indian cricket tour became problematic is because Indian cricket simply draws the largest crowds. They can, therefore, demand the most money from their gates and the television rights. It is the scale of their game that translates into more money and, therefore, translates into more power. Our own Dave Richardson sits at the head of the ICC (International Cricket Council) with his hands tied, effectively only allowed to act in those areas where the members have given this parent body some authority, for example in the next Cricket World Cup. International cricket, then, has finally moved to a point where the truth can no longer be hidden – it is no longer a gentlemen’s game organised amongst gentlemen and in pursuit of gentlemanly leisure alone. No, it has become a dog-eats-dog kind of commercial enterprise with egos no different than private enterprise’s caricatures like Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch. And, we should

add, the ego of the BCCI’s recently re-elected chairman N Srinivasan appears to dwarf even those guys. I mean, he also “owns” Indian chess!

We had Louis Luyt – they get Srini!

So, against this background of sport as entertainment, the power of television eyeballs and the perversion of oldfashioned values, we might want to take a look at a growing phenomenon on our sporting scene, namely the growth and expansion of the Varsity Cup series. It operates at nowhere near the same scale as the IPL, yet it too has the potential to make good people do weird things, as money often does.

Let’s first get clear about a few things.

Firstly, yes, there is room for better TV viewing on many nights of the week. Secondly, yes, there are several sporting codes that should be well served by gaining higher audience ratings and, therefore, potential sponsors. And thirdly, yes, universities were founded by the wise elders of Timbuktu and across Europe for the express purpose of enabling people of exceptional athleticism to chase after balls of different shapes and sizes. Not. And therein lies the rub – the absolute nonsense idea of the “studentathlete.”

Research across the NCAA (the US National Collegiate Athletics Association) shows that “studentathletes” have significantly lower standardised scores than other students upon admission. Then, because of their sports’ high demands, they also have significantly less time to prepare for or attend lectures. So, they are at a double disadvantage. Now, the way the American system has solved this problem is, among others, by offering some real doozies as academic credits; the kind of knowledge for which society has little value. Is

How would you feel as a parent of an aspiring student who just missed the cut-off for admission if our universities start making special admissions allowances for “studentathletes”?

6 SHM November 2013 2013

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Dandruff and sensitive scalp are now a thing of the past with Head & Shoulders’ range of shampoos and conditioners for every hair condition. Head & Shoulders is giving five lucky SHM readers a chance to win a confidence hamper valued at R1,365 each. Each hamper consists of Head & Shoulders classic clean products, a Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power Razor, a Gilette Shaving cream, an Old Spice after shave lotion, a Head & Shoulders branded gym towel and a Total Sports R500 voucher. Simply email confidence@shmmag.co.za with your name, cell and address and tell us how you define “confidence.” Entries close 30 November.

that really the way we want to go in a society where even properly qualified youths are battling to find jobs? Who gains and who loses?

And how would you feel as a parent of an aspiring student who just missed the cut-off for admission if our universities start making special admissions allowances for “studentathletes”? Somebody loses when we go the same route as did the USA. These are early days and there are many lessons to learn from the experience of others like the NCAA. We would be well advised to heed their lessons early as we gear up for progressively more lucrative varsity sports now that television has uncovered this potential goldmine. Or will administrators plead ignorance and surprise when we eventually also have our own under-the-table payoffs, prostitute and drug honey traps designed to keep athletes in town, or academic cheating cases?

And, as sad as it may be to see Sachin Tendulkar reaching the end of his amazing career, let’s hope he is good for two last tons, and that it is beamed into every cricket loving family’s home across the globe.

Charl

charl@shmmag.co.za

FROM THE rafters Letters to the editor

Dear Charl Congratulations on the first edition of the SHM magazine which I happened to pick up whilst waiting for a connecting flight in the Jhb Slow Lounge.

One of the positive experiences to be taken from your magazine is the “bite size” length of the articles and that you cover such an extensive array of sporting codes.

I even found myself reading articles on my less favourite sports as they were short enough to digest yet long enough to be informative.

The format of introducing fact snippets also creates value and leaves the reader with something “of a take home value.”

I would like to see on each of the sporting codes and features one or two future dates to watch out for in terms of major competitions or events to follow in the future. This allows me to log these onto my phone or iPad as future reminders.

Overall an easy, informative, creative read. Thanks!

Will look out for it again.

Regards, Clive van Oudtshoorn Dear Ed, First of all, thank you SO much for sorting the problem out and organising a new top quality sports mag. I was doing my nut with nothing sporty to read each month. It’s looking good. I just did a drive up to Benoni from KZN with my team-mates. The mag was an awesome read while in the passenger seat.

Secondly, I’m in Benoni (where we are playing IPT’s). We are on day four of the tournament. Unfortunately, Action cricket doesn’t get the coverage it deserves. How about looking us up?

The biggest sports nut, Gavin Skevington

Winning letter EDITORIAL Jane Smith Consulting Editor janesmith@shmmag.co.za

Tanya Goodman Managing Editor tanya@shmmag.co.za

AD SALES

Agencies Martin Green martin@shmmag.co.za 083 445 0371 Twitter: @shm_sport

Luka VRAČAR Features Editor luka@shmmag.co.za

Paul Crafford Art Director paul@shmmag.co.za

OTHER

Cape Town Greg Mason greg@shmmag.co.za 079 877 0470 www.shmmag.co.za

Jazz Kuschke is a surf bum disguised as a freelance photojournalist. He specialises in action sport and adventure travel but has written on subjects ranging from asthma, circumcision and career planning to fly-fishing for Garrick.

He is currently the deputy editor on Ride magazine and has written for a number of other magazines. When not bashing computer keys or planning the next shoot from his tiny office in Mossel Bay, he’s looking for waves, or that illusive Garrick. @Jazz_kuschke Ian McLeod is a sports writer with a soft spot for documentaries and social media. Also a contributor to the likes of Sports Illustrated and Red Bulletin, his specialty is feature stories, often delving into the fascinating history of sport’s great characters. Ian's own athletic past includes one “most enthusiastic” award for road running and three boxing matches (all losses). @IanMac111 Firdose Moonda is ESPN's cricket and football correspondent in Africa. She has covered World Cups in both sports as well as numerous bilateral series and cup competitions. She also runs a lifestyle website – www.thestreet-seen.com – and is a keen runner. @FirdoseM Antoinette Muller thinks of the world and the people who live in it as a bear with a sore paw. She has a stick covered in thorns and she’s poking the bear. When she’s not doing that, she’s watching cricket and longing for the days of the boring, boring Arsenal. She writes for whoever will have her. @mspr1nt Gavin Rich has covered Springbok rugby since the first postisolation tour in 1992, when he travelled as the SA Morning Group Man on Tour. He continued his observations of the Boks for the Independent Group between 1994 and 2001, and for the past 12 years has been contracted to Supersport.com and the Weekend Argus. He has just completed his second book, the Poisoned Chalice, which is about the post-isolation Bok coaches. @blobby15 James Roberts first identified Lewis Hamilton as a future star when he reported on his racing career in the junior racing categories back in 2002. Two years later Roberts was sent to Japan for his first Formula 1 assignment and has been working in the top-tier of motorsport since. Roberts has spent the last six years at the world's best selling grand prix magazine, F1 Racing, where he’s currently Associate Editor. He lives on the south coast of England with his family of three children and a high-mileage Toyota Celica and in his spare time helps run his local non-league football team.

Our winning letter each month earns its author a Timberland Hookset watch, worth R1,950, and ideal to equip outdoor enthusiasts for their adventures on land and water. Simplicity, along with craftsmanship and a concern for protecting the environment define all Timberland watches. Send your letters to editor@shmmag.co.za.

Charl du Plessis Editor charl@shmmag.co.za 082 452 8110

Neil Greig does his best as a holding midfielder, linking play between the various MTNFootball writers from all over the African continent and keeping the teams in shape while new talent emerges and goals are scored. He began his writing career at Kick Off magazine where he spent 11 years, having left behind jobs as a waiter, yacht salesman and factory worker, and edited the magazine through the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Grieg also worked as a media manager for Ajax Cape Town FC. @neilgreigsoccer

Subscriptions subs@shmmag.co.za (see page 14) Images Getty / Gallo / AFP / istock Distribution On the Dot | Craig Hughes | 021 918 8659 Printers Paarl Media Print Run 24,000 Copies www.facebook.com/sportshealthmonthly

SHM | South Africa’s Sports & Health Monthly magazine is published monthly by Chapel Lane Media. COPYRIGHT © 2013. All copyright for material appearing in this magazine belongs to Chapel Lane Media and/or contributors. All rights reserved.

Jean Smyth works for Eyewitness News Sport as a presenter and journalist, currently presenting the sports news on the CapeTalk 567 Breakfast Show. He’s from Cape Town and spent over five years working in the UK for the BBC, among other outlets, before returning to the Mother City and joining Primedia Broadcasting. He moved to Johannesburg in May 2013 and is passionate about generating original content for the outlets he works for. @JeanSmyth Anand Vasu has followed Indian cricket closely since 1999, for Cricinfo, the Hindustan Times, Sports Illustrated India and is currently Managing Editor of Wisden India. His reportage has won him three national awards for excellence in journalism. @anandvasu

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 7

News

Top story

Jake White

In The Shark Cage

The biggest story of the past month has been Jack White’s appointment as the new director of rugby for the Sharks rugby team, less than two months after leading the Brumbies to the Super Rugby final. The appointment was confirmed by Sharks Rugby CEO John Smit, and commences at the start of November. This will be the first time White will link up with his former captain

since their World Cup winning combination in 2007.

White left the Canberrabased side with two years remaining on his contract and was reportedly upset after the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) overlooked him for the Wallabies coaching job – the ARU had asked White to apply for the job earlier in the year. When White agreed to stay with the Brumbies in April, after turning down an interview for a potential seat at the helm of the Irish national side, it was in hopes of being selected for Australia’s top job.

However, the ARU went on to appoint Ewen McKenzie as the new Wallabies coach and Josef Schmidt got the Ireland job.

White takes over from former Springbok centre Brendan Venter, who was appointed in a turbulent hand-over in June this year after a disappointing Super Rugby season and the axing of John Plumtree, who had first heard of his dismissal via the media [For more info read “Super Rugby’s Coastal Crisis” in our August 2013 edition].

Incidentally, Plumtree has been hired as the new forwards coach for Ireland.

But White’s move to the Sharks has been panned in Australia. White had spoken of his intention to continue coaching the Brumbies into 2014 as recently as August, and his resignation from the club was initially for personal reasons

– the desire to return to South Africa to be closer to family.

But to Canberra’s dismay he accepted the appointment at a major Super Rugby rival and now refuses to address the Australian media.

Meanwhile, to the South African media White has described the appointment as a dream come true. “To get an opportunity to coach a franchise like this and have John as a boss, I think it’s the envy of a lot of coaches around the world,” White told Ballz Radio in early October. “I’m already at the practice as we speak… for me it’s about moving to Durban lock, stock, and barrel. I’ll be here every training session… I’ve got to make sure I’m committed.”

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Brendan Venter with Jake White during a Sharks training session and press conference at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban.

(8 October 2013)

8 SHM November 2013 2013

CHILIBOY RALEPELLE, hooker - SPRINGBOKS

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 9

News

action replay

25 September Defending champions Team Oracle USA were trailing in the first winner-takes-all final race for the America’s Cup since 1983 – the front bows of their 72-foot catamaran plunging into the water as they approached the Mark 1 bend. They were chasing the challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand, once again.

Emirates Team New Zealand had lost their grasp on the cup, having led 8-1 in the first-to-nine regattas; and yet Team Oracle USA had managed miraculously to fight back to 8-8 going into the fin al race in San Francisco Bay. Even burying their bows into the water could not dampen the American team’s spirits – while Emirates Team New Zealand led through Mark 1 and Mark 2, the third leg proved pivotal once again.

Team Oracle USA dominated

10 SHM November 2013

With every new advantage Emirates Team New Zealand seemed to have, Team Oracle bounced back with a bigger one – always that much faster, always that much higher off the water. upwind – their catamaran hydrofoiling over the water at record-breaking speed while resembling a plane skimming the ocean rather than a yacht.

In what is certainly the greatest comeback in sailing, and perhaps in all sport, Team Oracle USA won the 34th America’s Cup.

Not only did Team Oracle USA have to overcome an 8-1 deficit after losing most of the early races, they had to do it after being penalised two points in the 2012 preliminary round by illegally modifying their smaller, 45-foot catamarans to make them faster and more stable. So instead

of winning nine races, they won 11. It was remarkable to watch Team Oracle USA get faster and faster as the series progressed – with every new advantage Emirates Team New Zealand seemed to have, Team Oracle USA bounced back with a bigger one – always that much faster,

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp / red bull

America’s Cup Comeback

always that much higher off the water.

Technology played a huge part. Team Oracle USA entered each race with a new measurement certificate, meaning they relentlessly configured and upgraded their boat. Although it is still unknown what precisely Team Oracle USA did to their catamaran to incrementally improve their vessel, their chief executive, Russell Coutts, emphasised changes to the boat’s balance and manipulation of the wing shapes, stating that only the settings of the boat were changed rather than anything in the physical sense. One thing is for sure, these improvements enabled the boat to foil, or lift, completely out of the water on small horizontal wings, more often, and faster, than the challengers.

However, it was not all doom and gloom for the Kiwis. Coutts is from New Zealand, and Team Oracle USA itself had more New Zealanders on board than

Americans. Famed British sailor Sir Ben Ainslie joined Team Oracle USA at 8-1 down and skippered the boat to victory, and many credit him with the turn around. Even South Africa had a sailor on board Team Oracle USA in the shape of Jan Dekker who had taken part in the America’s Cup before and was invited this year to be Team Oracle USA’s safety diver. In

fact, Rome Kirby was the only American in Team Oracle USA. Shortly after Team Oracle USA’s remarkable win, Australia’s Hamilton Island Yacht Club issued the challenge for the next America’s Cup. The Queensland club will act as the Challenger of Record for the 35th edition early next year. Meanwhile, Sir Ben Ainslie is hoping to launch a British team as well. However,

the exorbitant costs of an America’s Cup campaign (some estimate at over $100-million) makes it an exclusive affair and because of this, aside from Team New Zealand, there were only two other challengers this year – Sweden’s Artemis Racing and Italy’s Luna Rossa. So it remains to be seen how many other teams will be able to join this most prestigious sailing event.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 11

Update

12 SHM November 2013

www.vitalityshop.co.za www.ebucks.com

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

ESPN has announced that it intends to drop all international versions of the X Games owing to lack of revenue. The X Games, which is owned by the American sports network, was launched in 1995 and is the premier event for extreme sports. International expansion began in 2011 and since then international X Games events have taken place in France, Brazil, Spain and Germany. The X Games will return to two events in 2014, with both the summer and winter games being held in the US.

ribe to

m

South Africa’s swimming champion Chad Le Clos earned himself three gold medals at the Moscow World Cup last month. The 21-year-old took the 200m butterfly, the 100m butterfly, and the 200 individual medley.

However, Le Clos was not the only South African taking home medals – Roland Schoeman won gold in the 50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly, and a silver in the 50m freestyle. Meanwhile, rising star Myles Brown won the 400m freestyle as well as the specialist 1,500m before taking bronze in the 200m freestyle.

ESPN Shuts Down International X Games

sc

sh

More gold for SA Swimming

sub

News

SA Cycling On The Up

Hawk-Eye for Football

South African cyclist Louis Meintjes finished second in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Florence, Italy. The South African team of Meintjes, Johann van Zyl, and Christopher Jennings had fewer members than other nations and had to rely on strategy. Meintjes joined the front with two laps to go, and attacked on the final lap before ultimately coming second to Slovenia’s Matej Mohoric. Meanwhile, Ashleigh Moolman was 22nd in the elite women’s road race and Heidi Dalton finished 21st in the junior women’s road race after finishing 13th in the time trial.

Hawk-Eye, the English company that produces the ball-tracking system used for video refereeing in tennis and cricket, has begun a two-year trial in the top Dutch football division.

Founder Paul Hawkins hopes his system can put an end to bad referee calls in the world’s biggest sport.

The debate surrounding ball tracking and goal-line technology in football reached its peak during the 2010 World Cup. Hawk-Eye will not be used to change calls in the Dutch trial, but rather to test the speed and reliability of the system.

More Brazilians Protest Against FIFA “FIFA go home,” was the call when a small group of protestors crashed a FIFA inspection of a 2013 World Cup stadium in Cuiaba, Brazil, on 8 October.

The small group of demonstrators, made up of striking civil servants, called for more spending on health and education. This comes less than four months after millions of Brazilians took to the streets in cities across Brazil to demand more spending on infrastructure and public services.

Loeb Ends Career With A Bang On 6 October, the greatest rally driver the world has seen ended his 14-year World Rally Championship career. It was a bittersweet end for Sebastian Loeb who crashed out on the last day of his final rally at the Rallye de France, sliding his Citroen off the road and flipping it on its roof in a ditch.

The Frenchman won a record nine world titles from 2004-2012, and only participated in four rallies this year, opting not to defend his title.

Compatriot Sébastien Ogier was crowned the new world champion.

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rising star

News

Beuran Hendricks Nationality

Date of Birth Sport teams

Bowling Style

South Africa 8 June 1990 Cricket South Africa A, Cape Cobras, Western Province Left-arm fast-medium

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

B

euran Hendricks caught our attention with a stunning display of bowling in the second match of the un-official Test between South Africa A and India A in August. The fast bowler took 5-36 in the first innings and 6-27 in the second, for a crushing overall figure of 11-63. It was a matchwinning performance, and South Africa were able to take the game with ease.

Cape Cobras’ coach Paul Adams has described Hendricks as a player who has a knack for making something happen from nothing, and particularly on unresponsive surfaces common during South Africa’s winter. “I go out there to take the opposition’s game away from them,” says Hendricks, but there are no secrets, just good technique and foresight, and he does that not only by bowling at 140km/h, but also with great swing and accuracy, hitting the lengths with consistency.

The speed comes naturally for the 23-year-old from Bellville in Cape Town. “That’s just how I bowled and how I was coached. I never made a decision to be a fast bowler.” Hendricks rose through the ranks in the Western Cape, first at Bellville Cricket Club, then on to Western Province and now at the Cape Cobras and South Africa A. In that time he has played 37 first-class matches, taking 138 wickets at an average of 20.60 runs. Last season alone he took 60 wickets in 15 matches, and he was the leading wicket-taker in the Sunfoil Series, clinching 22 scalps in just four matches for the Cape Cobras.

Now, Hendricks has his sights set firmly on Test cricket with the Proteas. However, no nation has as many quality fast bowlers as South Africa. Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander are first and second in the world rankings, and Morné Morkel is 11th.

Marchant de Lange, Rusty Theron, Wayne Parnell, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Chris Morris have all recently featured for South Africa in various formats – so there’s no shortage of quicks in the mix, and cracking into the top flight will not be easy. Hendricks knows, however, what needs to be done: “Just putting in performances. You have to be a performer if you want to perform at the top level. That’s what South Africa has at the moment.” www.shmmag.co.za SHM 15

statsthe player numbers profile by

As national golf championships go, few can match the longevity and history of the SA Open. This year, Glendower GC hosts the 103rd SA Open Championship from 21 to 24 November.

With trivia aplenty, it’s worth a walk down memory lane…

Open season

8

Players from outside Southern Africa have won the SA Open in the past; the first was England’s Tommy Horton back in 1970, the most recent Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in 2012. Other overseas champions include New Zealand’s Bob Charles, America’s Charlie Bolling and Fred Wadsworth, Fiji’s Vijay Singh, Sweden’s Mathias Gronberg and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay.

53 years old

Henrik Stenson

16 SHM November 2013

The age of the SA Open’s oldest winner Sid Brews, who won his last title in 1952 at the age of 53! (Gary Player was an impressive 46 when he clinched the 1981 SA Open, his last victory in the event.)

263 The lowest four-round score at the SA Open: this record total was set by winner Ernie Els at the 2006/07 tournament at PE’s Humewood GC. (Note: Els’ 263 posted at the 2010 event does not count as a record, as it included a nominal par awarded to all players because the 4th green was unplayable due to rain.)

17

The number of times that Durban Country Club has staged South Africa’s national championship – streaks ahead of our country’s other courses. Next best: Royal Cape and Royal Johannesburg and Kensington with 10 tournaments each.

1997

That was the year that the South African Open Championship became a cosanctioned event on the European Tour.

For the 2014 season, there will be a remarkable six Eurotour co-sanctioned tournaments held in South Africa (also the Alfred Dunhill Championship, Nelson Mandela Championship, Joburg Open, Africa Open and Tshwane Open).

2004 Trevor Immelman’s back-to-back SA Open victories in 2003 and 2004 (both at his home course, Erinvale in Somerset West) were the first time since 1977 that a player had successfully defended his SA Open title.

€1.1 million

Total prize-fund for the European Tour co-sanctioned South African Open Championship; it is also the first event on the 2014 European Tour schedule.

Not so unlucky for Gary Player – the Black Knight has held aloft the SA Open trophy a record 13 times. This includes a stretch of five consecutive wins from 1965 to 1969. Player is not the only multiple SA Open winner – he’s followed on the list by Bobby Locke (9), Sid Brews (8), Ernie Els (5) and George Fotheringham (5).

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Defending champion: Henrik Stenson At the close of 2011, Henrik Stenson was ranked 207th in the Official World Golf Ranking – a massive slide for a golfer who’d been a consistent top-tenner and as high as No 4 in the world back in May 2009.

Ahead of last year’s SA Open at Serengeti, the Swede was still ranked a rather lowly 113th in the world; now, mid

September 2013, Stenson is back in the world’s top-10 (No 6) and no doubt the form golfer of the latter half of the year. Did it all start with that SA Open victory? Well, we’d like to think so…

Stenson’s results in 2013 have been impressive (nine top-10 finishes), but since July his golf has been smokin’.

He was a runner-up at the British Open, finished third at the US PGA Championship, another second at the WGCBridgestone Invitational, and then won the Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship in early September. The 39-yearold from Gothenberg also received a massive boost when

he won in the lucrative FedEx Cup at the end of the US PGA Tour season.

And the best news? He will be back to defend his SA Open title at Glendower – and we certainly won’t be betting against him.

Stats as of 23 September 2013 www.shmmag.co.za SHM 17

stats Gear

great outdoors

African Nature Merino Wool Gear

African Nature recently launched their new merino wool range, a first for South Africa. Merino wool keeps your skin dry, regulates temperature and is non-itchy, odour-free and flame resistant. Designed to be worn in layers, African Nature’s range is perfect for all outdoor pursuits.

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ALL GEAR ON this PAGE AVAILABLE AT www.africannature.co.za.

Ladies Fleece Jacket

Designed as a mid-layer, the African Nature ladies fleece jacket is snug over a T-shirt yet is light enough to keep you on your trail.

It features the warmth and breathability typical of 100 percent merino wool. Zipped pockets and loops for your earphones for added practicality.

R1,599.95

18 SHM November 2013

Men’s and Ladies Wool Soft Shell Jackets

Made from a windproof and water resistant polyester outer layer, this soft shell jacket is ideal for cool temperatures.

It is lightweight yet the merino wool fleece lining ensures breathability.

Mens R1,849.95 Womens R1,759.95

Men’s Wool T-Shirt

The African Nature merino wool T-shirt is light and its slim-fit design moves with your body. Serves as a base layer that will regulate body temperature year-round yet remain breathable.

R559.95

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Get Going

Great Outdoors Sierra Tent For hiking or camping, this lightweight tent is spacious enough for four people and measures 3m x 3m x 2.25m. With a polyester flysheet, PVC floor and 8.3mm spring steel frame, you can weather the elements in true South African style. Two mesh windows let you keep an eye on what’s happening outside, whether it’s the hippos coming to graze or your daughter’s boyfriend trying to set up a midnight rendezvous. R4,200

Get Packing

First Ascent Nebula Daypack With a 25-litre capacity, this daypack is all you need to carry basic supplies for a short day hike but still clever enough to have features such as hydration bladder compatibility, water bottle carrier pockets and trekking pole loops. Direct Airflow System provides excellent breathability while adjustable padded shoulder straps offer comfort. Safety features include a reflective strip, a sternum strap and an emergency whistle. R600

Get Tracking

Garmin eTrex 10 GPS Part of the new Garmin eTrex range, this is one of the first-ever consumer-grade receivers that can track both GPS and GLONASS (the Russian system) satellites simultaneously. With this functionality plus HotFix support, the eTrex 10 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover. So, whether you’re in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, this device will help you find your way when you need it the most. R1,400

[

ALL GEAR ON this PAGE AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL SPORTSMANS WAREHOUSE.

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www.shmmag.co.za SHM 19

BOOKS

Sport

Good Reads

Springbok Factory: What It Takes To Be A Bok R195

By Liz McGregor Imagine a Springbok as a finished product coming off a factory assembly line. What are the components required? And what does it take for them to cohere into a successful team? Author Liz McGregor spent two years behind the scenes interviewing the players, coaches, wives and girlfriends, mothers and teachers. She also spoke to the Bok doctor and physio, the sponsors, brand managers and the logistics guy. And then there’s the boss, the South African Rugby Union.

What she discovered is as fascinating as it is complex: that parents play a crucial role, as do those early coaches and teachers who identify and nurture talent; that injury lurks behind every corner; that it takes incredible courage to go back onto the field to face another battering; and that the “business” of the Springboks is one that is both well and poorly managed, depending where you look. From Jonathan Ball

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www.vitalityshop.co.za www.ebucks.com

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By Zlatan Ibrahimović This is the explosive, criticallyacclaimed memoir of Zlatan Ibrahimović, one of the world's most gifted and controversial footballers.

Moving, funny and totally frank, I am Zlatan is a remarkable story of genuine hardship and unimaginable success. It is unlike any autobiography you have ever read.

“Why be a Fiat when you can be a Ferrari?” Welcome to planet Zlatan.

This is the story of how a Swedish outsider rose from poverty to become a football genius. In his own inimitable style, Zlatan recalls every struggle, every goal, and every training ground bustup on his journey to dominate the world's top clubs, including Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, Barcelona, Milan and Paris SaintGermain. Full of wicked one-liners and amazing stories, Zlatan lifts the lid on some of the biggest names in football, including Guardiola, Mourinho and Messi. From Penguin Publishers

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I Am Zlatan R165

Watch This!

to give DVD: Greatest Springbok Tries 5away R179

There is nothing more exciting in rugby than a well-worked try. It may come from a team effort across the entire length of the field; from the brute strength of the forwards; by the silky sidestep of a back; or by the lightning-quick speed of a winger. Well, now is your chance to see them all! Greatest Springbok Tries is a special collector’s edition of the most spectacular tries that have been scored over the last two decades of Springbok rugby.

The producers, RuggaBugga Entertainment, together with the South African Rugby Union, know how passionate Bok supporters are, so with that in mind, they have compiled the best of the best from the experts themselves – you, the fans.

Greatest Springbok Tries features more than 60 tries, starting with Danie Gerber’s in 1992 and ending with Bryan Habana’s Try of the Year in 2012. To top it all off, this DVD is presented by ex-Springbok hooker James Dalton, along with current Springbok stars Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana, giving you insights on each top try over the last 20 years.

The DVDs are available at retail stores nationwide, at www.takealot.com and the online shop at www.sarugby.co.za.

Giveaway Thanks to RuggaBugga and SHM, you can stand a chance to win a copy for yourself. We have five DVDs to give away. Just tell us why you want it. Email tries@shmmag.co.za with your name and address before 30 November 2013, and it could be yours.

Catch a sneak peak here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmCPPYZV6S4

20 SHM November 2013

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 20

boxing

Skill

Throw a Jab How to...

n boxing, one punch can change everything. The underdog can take a beating for 10 rounds, but one punch, through determination, desperation, or luck, timed to perfection and placed squarely against the champ’s jaw is all it takes to cause an upset. That punch is usually a sharp cross, a swinging hook, or an explosive uppercut. For this reason, the simple jab is often overlooked.

It should be no surprise, though, that this

I

versatile punch is the most important weapon in boxing.

Over 90 percent of punches a boxer throws are jabs. It is the longest, fastest and most accurate punch in boxing. It scores points, keeps your opponent away from you, it hurts him as it wears him down, it sets you up for a more definitive punch with your stronger hand, and it serves as defence, using it to counter just about anything you have thrown at you.

It may not deliver the killer blow, but it does everything else. It does not matter what type of boxer you are; Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvellous Marvin Hagler, Larry Holmes, Floyd Mayweather Jr, and Wladimir Klitschko, all have different techniques and yet all are masters of the jab. Some are lightning quick (Ali, Leonard) and others have brutal power (Hagler, Klitschko). Here are the fundamentals.

1. Stance Hands up, elbows close to the body, knees slightly bent and feet at about hip-width apart with your front foot pointed towards your opponent. Raise the heel of your trailing foot slightly off the ground, but keep your weight centred. Keep relaxed.

2. Extension

3. Rotation

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This is the hard part. As you extend your arm, lift your shoulder and rotate your entire arm – the shoulder, elbow, and fist. Lifting the shoulder so that it covers your chin begins the rotation of the arm and protects your chin from counterpunches.

Rotating the elbow quickly gives the jab its power, providing depth and penetration to the punch.

Tighten your fist at the moment of impact, and not before you throw the punch. Balling your hand into a fist tenses up your muscles and this can produce explosive power. But tensing up before impact slows you down, wastes energy and will be ineffective.

When you make contact with your opponent quickly pull your arm back and continue fighting.

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Punch with your leading (weaker) arm (left if you are orthodox, or right if you are a southpaw). The extension of your arm should be quick and relaxed, and should not feel heavy as if you are trying to land a knockout punch.

Your elbow should move forward into the punch and not swing out away from the body. Remember, it’s an extension not a swing.

Try to imagine the swiftness of a whip, with your fist snapping against your opponent.

Illustration: paul crafford

tips

Common Mistakes 1. Lifting your elbow to the side when punching: Also known as the “chicken-wing,” this will cause you to lose power, and allow your opponent to see the punch coming.

2. Dropping your trailing hand: this happens out of reflex. You forget what your other hand is

doing because you are focused on the punch, or you are not keeping your weight centred.

Defend yourself at all times.

3. Leading forward with the head: get your reach from lifting your shoulder. You’ll lose power and speed and set yourself up for a

counterpunch if you try and lean in with your head.

4. Not lifting the shoulder: simply raising your arm and trying to jab with the elbow will cause you to lose power and reach.

A rookie error. www.shmmag.co.za SHM 21

SCHOOL sPORTS nEWS Compiled by: Timmy Hancox

Sporting Family

RG & Annerine Snyman Rudolph Gerhardus (“RG”) is a giant of a young man at 2.05m tall. This Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool and SA Schools lock was a key figure in his schools’ unbeaten first team rugby side this season. RG is one to watch out for in the future, as he could go far in his rugby career, with size, speed and skill all weighing in his favour.

RG’s sister, Annerine Snyman, is in grade 11 at Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, where she is the goal shooter for the unbeaten first netball team and earned herself selection for the SA U17 team.

School Sports News decided to catch up with these two sporty siblings.

Player Profile:

Rudolph Gerhardus Snyman Date of birth: 1/29/1995 Birth city: Potchefstroom Height: 2.05m Weight: 113kg Position: Lock Nickname: RG What was your first reaction when you were called up to the SA Schools rugby team?

Xander (Janse van Rensburg) from the Bulls phoned me with the news. I was surprised and very happy and honoured.

What is your fondest rugby memory to date?

Beating Grey College at Grey.

Your Affies team has had a brilliant season, what makes your team so good?

We know each other very well, most of us have been playing together since grade 8 (U14). We have a great team spirit; the matrics and grade 11's all get along very well.

You are very tall for a schoolboy. What have you been eating to get so big?

It doesn’t matter what you eat, it is how much you eat! [haha] And good genes, of course.

What do you think are your main rugby strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths: vision, off-load abilities, line-out abilities, my speed.

Weaknesses: foul language on the field when I am frustrated.

What other sports do you play besides rugby, and how have you fared at those?

I played cricket in primary school and received provincial colours. I also like athletics (I run the 100m in 11.19 sec) and I have been graded as an amateur boxer.

What are your plans for the future? Have you signed a contract with anyone?

I plan to study Law at TUKS and I have signed with the Bulls.

What do you like to do when you’re not playing rugby?

Visit my girlfriend and play golf.

Who are your sporting role models?

Muhammad Ali, because he always backed himself, he’s mentally strong and he worked hard to become the best.

My father, because he has had a great influence on my sport career thus far, and what I know and who I am are because of him.

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

Super strength.

Favourite

Food: Steak and chips Music: Mumford & Sons Movie: Faster and Parker TV Show: The Big Bang Theory Book: The Bible, various autobiographies Sportsman: Usain Bolt Sports team: Springboks and Bulls

What has been the highlight for you this year?

There’ve been two: being selected for SA Schools and then our Affies team made history by being the first team to win all our matches in a year.

Cricket Top 20

(as of 23 october 2013)

A new summer season and the first chance for teams to make their mark in the Schools Sports News rankings with an all-new cricket top 20.

1. Rondebosch 2. Waterkloof 3. KES 4. St Stithians 5. Michaelhouse 22 SHM November 2013

6. Westville 7. Affies 8. Paarl Boys’ High 9. Paul Roos 10. St David’s

11. St John’s 12. Wynberg 13. Bishops 14. Framesby 15. Centurion

16. Pearson 17. Grey PE 18. Maritzburg College 19. SACS 20. Benoni High

For the latest updates, go to: www.schoolsportsnews.co.za

Other teams bubbling under and in contention: DHS, Glenwood, Dale College, Garsfontein, Grey Bloem, Hilton, Hudson Park, Jeppe, Jeugland, Kearsney, Menlopark, Noord-Kaap, Northwood, Paarl Gim, Pretoria Boys, Queen’s College, Selborne, Somerset College, St Alban’s, St Andrew’s (Bloem), St Andrew’s (Grahamstown), St Charles, Union High and Uplands College.

Player Profile:

Annerine Snyman Date of birth: 12/3/1996 Birth city: Pretoria Height: 1.88m Position: Goal shooter Nickname: Anna What was your first reaction when you were selected for the SA U17 team?

I was pleasantly surprised and then the more I thought about it the more proud and blessed I felt.

Have you been selected for a provincial or national team before?

Yes, I was selected for Gauteng U15 in 2011.

Due to injury last year I could not participate in the trials, but that made me stronger as a person.

Your Affies netball team has had an incredible season, what do you think makes your team so good?

We are a good unit and we all love and support each other on and off the court.

There is a lot of respect and hard work in our team, I am so proud of all of those amazing girls. We also have been playing together a few years and we have the best coach in the whole country.

What has been the highlight for you this year?

Winning the SA Schools Championship was the best moment because all our hard work of the past two years paid off.

What do you think are your main netball strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths: Shooting, my hand skills and fully trusting my team.

Weaknesses: I still need to work on my balance and getting my feet faster.

Favourite

Food: Apples, braaivleis and salad Music: Anything except heavy metal Movie: All the Pirates of the Caribbean movies TV Show: The Big Bang Theory Book: The Hunger Games trilogy Sports star: Maria Sharapova Sports team: Springboks

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

What other sports do you play besides netball, and how have you fared at those?

I enjoy all kinds of sport but at school mainly netball and athletics (I do high jump for my school A-team).

Plans for the future?

I want to study at Maties or TUKS but I’m not sure what yet (luckily I’m still at school next year).

What do you like to do when you’re not playing netball?

Reading, doing dramatic arts, playing

Water Polo Top 20

sports like golf and tennis. Also spending quality time with my friends and family.

Who are your sporting role models?

My brother (SA Schools lock RG Snyman), because he works so hard and is dedicated. I have so much respect for him.

Maria Sharapova, because she won Wimbledon at about the same age I am now and she continues to excel.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

Flying and being invisible. Being able to shrink so I can swim in Nutella.

(as of 26 September 2013)

The boys are back in the pool and we have the rankings for water polo with an all-new Top 20 1. Reddam House (WC) 2. Clifton 3. SACS 4. St John’s 5. St Stithians

6. Grey PE 7. Kearsney 8. Bishops 9. Hilton 10. Wynberg

11. Paul Roos 12. KES 13. St Andrew’s (Grahamstown) 14. Michaelhouse 15. Pretoria Boys

For the latest updates, go to: www.schoolsportsnews.co.za

16. Glenwood 17. Selborne 18. St Peter’s 19. St Alban’s 20. Jeppe

Other teams bubbling under and in contention: Affies, DHS, Grey Bloem, Maritzburg College, Northwood, Parktown, Pearson, Rondebosch, St David’s and Westville.

Check in at the School Sports News website for other profiles and current updates to the Top 20 rankings: www.schoolsportsnews.co.za www.shmmag.co.za SHM 23

Out of left field

Dan Nicholl

Testing Times

s

ydney’s cricket fans will argue fervently with me, and they have a reasonable case – having crowded into the Sydney Cricket Ground to start January with a cricketing flourish under blue Australian skies, I know it’s a splendid experience.

But it still can’t match the simple, sunkissed delight of sitting in the stands at Newlands, cold beer in hand, as a New Year’s Test gets the year underway. Dale Steyn thundering in off his long, fluid run; Jacques Kallis imperiously dispatching attacks to the ropes; visiting players getting helpful advice from the Cape’s inimitable ice-cream vendors…

But few New Year’s Tests held the allure of 2014’s marquee start to the cricketing year. South Africa versus India is always a monumental clash; and when the game in question represents Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test match, you have one of cricket’s truly special occasions. The runs may not come quite as easily as they once did, but Tendulkar remains as iconic as any player cricket has given us. The upside of his reluctance to retire is a second century of Test matches, played out beneath the shadow of Table Mountain.

Or at least, it would have been. For as I write this, the New Year’s Test could well feature Scotland, or Canada, or the wonderfully enthusiastic Afghanistan, one of sport’s unlikeliest fairy tales.

(Afghanistan will play in the next World Cup; look out for their particularly explosive top order.) Which would delight any of the three cricketing minnows, especially those swapping Scottish or Canadian winters for Cape Town in January, but hardly offers the majesty of India, and Tendulkar’s astonishing milestone – one the encroachment of 20-over madness suggests will never again be reached.

The sudden change to a perfect summer of cricket stems from the dark forces of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), an unfortunate hybrid of school bully and sulking teenager. Appointing

24 SHM November 2013

Haroon Lorgat as Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) new CEO to draw a line under our own dark chapter of cricket administration inspired the wrath of India’s cricket politburo: where we see a mild-mannered, bespectacled gentleman with the air of an accountant, the BCCI sees Lord Voldemort, Darth Vader and Skeletor rolled into one. It would be terribly amusing if it weren’t quite so worrying for the future of cricket.

There is no nation on earth with the same devotion to the game as India; no country where the sport is worshipped so. Yellowing posters of Symcox and McMillan adorn the walls of slums in Mumbai. Streets in Kolkata still have bedraggled kids bowling their hearts out, imagining themselves to be Allan Donald in full flight. Every week in Bangalore, another few newborns leave hospital blessed with the name “Jonty.” And that’s just the South African influence: take Brett Lee to Delhi, or Brian Lara to Jaipur, or Dan Vettori to Nagpur, and you have a rock star reception Hollywood can’t come close to.

The 2012 PICA Columnist of the Year, Dan Nicholl is a former radio and TV presenter who now works both in South Africa and abroad as a presenter and MC, hosting highprofile sporting events as a ruse to play as much golf as possible. Born in Northern Ireland and brought up in Zimbabwe, Dan spent four years at the University of Cape Town (2014 Varsity Cup champions), but now lives in Johannesburg. Dan is married to a Greek lawyer; since his wedding day, he is yet to win an argument. @dannicholl

with South Africa the latest casualty of the whims of cricket’s true muscle.

Play by our rules, or don’t play at all; it’s a dangerous precedent, but one that no one seems capable of standing up to, such is the commercial clout of Indian cricket. The ICC looks more and more like Chris Martin with bat in hand at the wicket, and as the IPL monster spurns more copycat leagues around the world, and Test cricket politely tries to cling on to its status as the game’s defining format, so India’s control of the sport looks ever more threatening. We might, with suppliant negotiation, still get to play India this summer, but certainly not

The sudden change to a perfect summer of cricket stems from the dark forces of the Board for Control of Cricket in India, an unfortunate hybrid of school bully and sulking teenager.

All of which has been fantastic for the finances of the game: brands are pouring vast sums of money into cricket, players are earning lavishly from the Indian Premier League (IPL) carnival and Indian commercials, and it’s surely just a matter of time before the musical talent of AB de Villiers sees him command a fortune to headline a Bollywood hit.

But there’s another, darker Bollywood story already playing out: plied with the fortune and power that cricket has afforded them, the BCCI are fast becoming the dark lords of the game,

on our own terms – and there’ll be no 200th Test for Sachin in South Africa, an honour instead bestowed upon a gentle West Indian attack on a suitably placid Indian track. The vision of multiple IPL and Champions Leagues a season, players aspiring to represent the Super Kings or Daredevils rather than their own country, and the occasional one-off Test for nostalgic recollection, lies at the end of the road cricket finds itself on. Enjoy the New Year’s Test, which I sincerely hope still happens – but read up on the Scottish bowling attack just to be sure.

TUSSEN VRINNE

Pieter Redelinghuys

GHOLF: REËL 14-1b

v

Vanaf 1 Januarie 2016 mag gholfspelers wêreldwyd nie meer lang setstokke gebruik nie. Dis nou die tipe setstok wat of teen die maag of bors gestut of geanker word sodat die speler met ‘n meer stabiele greep (en dus meer akkuraat, sê die spel se reëlbewakers) na die blikkie kan korrel.

Die nuwe reël – aangevoer deur die Amerikaanse Gholfvereniging (USGA) en ondersteun deur The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews – sou waarskynlik sonder ‘n groot “ge-oe” of “ge-aa” deurgevoer kon word, was dit nie dat vier van die ses onlangse Major-toernooie gewen is deur beroepspelers wat juis dié stok onderweg na hul seges gebruik het.

In 2011 het Keegan Bradley die eerste speler geword om met ‘n geankerde setstok een van die Vier Grotes te wen, toe hy die Amerikaanse PGA-kampioen geword het.

Webb Simpson het in 2012 die Amerikanse Ope met die hulp van ‘n lang setstok gewen. Ons eie Ernie Els het in dieselfde jaar (danksy Adam Scott se breinfloute op die laaste dag) ‘n tweede Britse Ope-titel met die stok verseël. En die einste Australiër het op 14 April vanjaar die groen baadjie wat die Amerikaanse Meesters-wenner toekom oor sy skouers getrek, ook met ‘n lang setstok in sy sak.

Benewens die seges, het Bill Haas in September 2011 die gesogte Tourtoernooi gewen en so die vyfde speler in sewe PGA-toernooie agtereenvolgens geword om met ‘n lang setstok ‘n sege te behaal. Tot op hede het tientalle van die voorste beroepspelers die tipe setstok gebruik om sukses in Amerika en Europa te behaal.

So ‘n mens kan sien watter tammeletjie dit eintlik vir gholf se grootbase was om uiteindelik die besluit te neem. Veral as jy in ag neem dat die spel se grootste hedendaagse ikoon, Tiger Woods, uit die

staanspoor gekant was teen die gebruik van die stok en trouens op rekord gesê het hy stel voor die standaard-setstok moet nie langer as die kortste stok in iemand se gholfsak (gewoonlik die sandyster) wees nie.

So wat is die kwessie hier? Is die toepassing van Reël 14-1b – soos die nuwe bepaling voortaan bekend is – vanaf 1 Januarie 2016 onregverdig teenoor die 50 plus beroepspelers wat tans lang setstokke gebruik? Moet spelers nie juis die keuse gegun word om die tipe stokke te kies wat hulle spelstyl die beste pas nie?

Ek dink nie so nie.

Moenie ‘n fout maak nie, ek is ten gunste van vernuwing en hedendaagse tegnologie wat tot voordeel van die spel strek. Waar sou gholf tog gewees het sonder die revolusionêre ontwikkeling en verbetering van toerusting? Vir gholf om aan die voorpunt te bly en die belangstelling van sy ondersteuners te behou, moet daar vooruitgang wees.

Dis ‘n spel waarby jaarliks dermiljoene rande betrokke is – honderde maatskappye spesialiseer in die verbetering van gholftoerusting om spelers ‘n beter kans te gee om sukses te behaal.

Maar geen industrie is groter as die basiese beginsels van die spel nie.

Geen speler kan die reëls verbuig om ‘n onregverdige voordeel bo medespelers te kry nie. Doen jy dit, ondermyn jy die groot faktor wat gholf van ander sportsoorte onderskei: die feit dat alle spelers – die beroepsmense en die amateurs – met mekaar kan meeding omdat presies dieselfde stel reëls en toestande vir almal geld. Op een gegewe baan kan jy dus ‘n gholflegende met titels agter sy naam en ‘n bewerige beginner in dieselfde vierbal vind en vir albei is een stel reëls en enerse speeltoestande van toepassing.

Ek glo die anker-setstok gee aan wie dit ook al gebruik ‘n onregverdige

Ek glo die ankersetstok gee aan wie dit ook al gebruik ‘n onregverdige voordeel.

26 SHM November 2013

Pieter is al 22 jaar lank ‘n joernalis, ‘n groot hap hiervan as sportskrywer. Hy is ‘n ondergemiddelde gholfspeler (onder alle omstandighede), ‘n bogemiddelde pool- en veerpyltjiespeler (onder spesifieke omstandighede) en iemand wat ‘n TV aanhou slegs om sport te volg.

As die Stormers en WP seëvier sê hy Kaapse rugby is kerngesond, en as enige ander span seëvier sê hy rugby is die wenner. @pietrede

voordeel. Ek glo dit laat ‘n speler toe om groter beheer oor die swaaitrajek van die stok uit te oefen omdat die stok, of die hand wat die stok lei, gestut word aan ‘n ander liggaamsdeel (wat nie die hand of arm is nie).

Die USGA en R&A verwag kennelik teenkanting (dalk selfs regsaksie van setstokvervaardigers?) teen Reël 141b, want hulle het reeds ‘n dokument van 40 bladsye saamgestel om die tegniese aspekte te verduidelik van wat as ongeankerde en geankerde setwerk beskou kan word.

Die hele relaas word bes opgesom met hierdie kort aanhaling: “Rule 14-1b is based on a judgement that anchoring the club, rather than freely swinging it, might assist the player by altering and reducing the challenge of making a stroke.”

En dis mos waaroor gholf gaan… die “challenge” wat dit inhou om die hou te speel. ‘n Uitdaging wat sonder “altering” en “reducing” moet geskied. Nie waar nie?

So, vir Keegan, Webb, Ernie en Adam – en vir waarskynlik derduisede amateurs wêreldwyd – is daar bietjie meer as twee jaar oor om terug te keer na ‘n setstok wat nie soos ‘n seer duim by ‘n gholfsak uitsteek nie.

English Translation

GOLF: Rule 14-1b

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

F

rom 1 January 2016 golfers worldwide may no longer use long putters; those putters that rest or anchor against the chest or stomach so that the player can hit with a more stable (and thus more accurate, claim the sport's rule-makers) shot towards the hole.

The new rule – argued for by the US Golf Association (USGA) and supported by The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews – would probably have been passed without much fanfare, if it was not for the fact that four of the six recent Major tournaments have been won by professional players who specifically used the putter in question on their way to victory.

In 2011 Keegan Bradley became the first player to win one of the Big Four with an anchored putter, when he won the PGA Championship.

Webb Simpson won the 2012 US Open with the help of a long putter. Our own Ernie Els (thanks to Adam Scott's brain-fumble on the last day) won a second British Open title with the putter.

And the very Australian donned the green jacket that befits the winner of the Masters, also with the aid of a long putter in his bag.

In addition to these victories, Bill Haas won the 2011 Tour Championship and in so doing became the fifth player in seven consecutive PGA tour events to gain a victory with a long putter. To date, scores of the foremost professional players have used this putter to obtain success in America and Europe.

So you can see what kind of quagmire it really was for golf's big shots to finally make the decision. Especially when you take into account that the sport’s biggest modern-day icon, Tiger Woods, has been opposed to the use of longer putters right from the start and has gone on record to suggest a standard-putter not longer than the shortest club in a player's golf bag (usually the sand wedge).

So what is the issue here? Is the application of Rule 14-1b – as it has

“Rule 14-1b is based on a judgement that anchoring the club, rather than freely swinging it, might assist the player by altering and reducing the challenge of making a stroke.” come to be called – from 1 January 2016 unfair towards the 50-plus professional players who currently use long putters?

Should players not be given the choice to use the type of club that best suits their playing style?

I don't think so.

Make no mistake, I am in favour of innovation and modern-day technologies that can benefit the sport. Where would golf be today without the revolutionary development and improvement of equipment? For golf to remain at the forefront and to keep the interest of its supporters, there must be progress.

It's a game involving countless millions of rands every year – hundreds of companies specialise in the improvement of golf equipment to give players a better chance of achieving success.

But no industry is bigger than the basic principles of the game. No player can bend the rules to gain an unfair advantage above other players. If you do that, you undermine the big factor that differentiates golf from other sports: the fact that all players – professionals and amateurs – can compete with each other because exactly the same rules and conditions apply to everyone. On any one given course you can, therefore, find a golf legend with titles behind his name and a nervous beginner in the same fourball

and for both one set of rules and playing conditions apply.

I believe the anchored-putter gives whoever uses it an unfair advantage. I believe it allows the player to exercise more control over the swing-trajectory of the putter because it, or rather the hand that guides it, is propped against another part of the body (which isn't the hand or arm).

The USGA and R&A obviously expect resistance (perhaps even lawsuit action from putter manufacturers?) against Rule 14-1b, because they have already compiled a 40-page document to explain the technical aspects of what is considered anchored or un-anchored putting.

The whole account can best be summarised in this short quote: “Rule 14-1b is based on a judgement that anchoring the club, rather than freely swinging it, might assist the player by altering and reducing the challenge of making a stroke.”

And that's what golf is about: the challenge involved in making the shot. A challenge that should be tackled without altering or reducing, not true?

So for Keegan, Webb, Ernie and Adam – and probably for thousands of amateurs worldwide – there is little more than two years to return to a putter that doesn't stick out of a golf bag like a sore thumb.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 27

28 SHM November 2013

Eina!

Scott Parker skreeu in pyn soos wat hy geduik word deur Chelsea verdediger Gary Cahill tydens 'n Engelse Premier Liga kragmeting by Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, onder bestuurder Jose Mourinho, het die spel 2-0 gewen.

front row view

Eina!

Scott Parker shouts in anguish as he is tackled

by Chelsea defender Gary Cahill during an English Premier League match at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, under manager Jose Mourinho, won the game 2-0.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 29

front row view

No horsing around

Belgium rider Nicola Philippaerts, and her horse Vadetta VH Mettenhof, compete in the individual jumping equestrian on the final day of the Masters tournament in Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Canada.

The Spruce Meadows event annually attracts some of the best equestrian riders, and this year boasted $2-milllion in prize money.

'n Gegewe Perd

Belgiese ruiter Nocola Philappaerts en haar perd Vadetta VH Mettenhof, kompeteer in die individuele spring ruiter op die finale dag van die Masters Toernooi in Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Kanada.

Die Spruce Meadows toernooi lok jaarliks van die beste ruiters ter wĂŞreld en het die jaar $2-miljoen in prysgeld gespog.

Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images

30 SHM November 2013

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 31

front row view

Spot on precision

Miyo Ichikawa looks on during game four of the Curling Japan Qualifying tournament in Sapporo, Japan. Curling, which is a Winter Olympics sport, is similar to bowls or boules, but works with large granite stones that are slid across the ice towards a marked-off area. Interestingly, curling stones are made of two types of granite, found solely on Ailsa Craig, an island off the coast of Scotland.

Konsentrasie op ys

Miyo Ichikawa staar aandagtig tydens die vierde spel van die Japanese Curling toernooi in Sapporo, Japan.

Curling, wat 'n Winter Olimpiese Spele sport is, is soortgelyk aan rolbal, maar werk met groot graniet stene wat oor die ys gegly word tot by 'n afgemerkde area.

Interessant genoeg, curlingstene is gemaak van twee tipes graniet, wat uitsluitlik op Alisa Craig – 'n eiland naby Skotland – gevind word.

Photo by Ken Ishii/Getty Images

32 SHM November 2013

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34 SHM November 2013

front row view

All tied up

Iran’s Taleb Nematpour (in the red) and Azerbaijan’s Saman Tahmasebi (in the blue) grapple during the men’s Greco-Roman 84kg final of the FILA World Wrestling Championships in Budapest. The 29-year-old Nematpour won the gold medal.

Vasgevang

Iran se Taleb Nematpour (in die rooi) en Azerbaijan se Saman Tahmasebi (in die blou) worstel tydens die Mans Grieks-Romeinse 84kg finaal van die FILA Wêreld Stoei Kampioenskap in Budapest. Die 29-jarige Nematpour het die goue medalje gewen.

Photo by Attila Kisbenedek/AFP Photo

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 35

front row view

Is it a bird, is it a plane?

In an attempt to rouse the gees of 1995, a plane does a flyby ahead of the 2013 Rugby Championship clash between South Africa and New Zealand at Ellis Park. It was the final match of the tournament, and both teams still had an opportunity to win the championship. In the end, the All Blacks won 38-27, and claimed the overall title.

Is dit 'n voĂŤl, is dit 'n vliegtuig?

Om die gees van 1995 te probeer opjaag, doen 'n vliegtuig 'n toonstelling voor die 2013 Rugby Kampioenskap kragmeting tussen Suid Afrika en NieuSeeland op Ellis Park. Dit was die finale spel van die toernooi en albei spanne het nogsteeds 'n kans gehad om die kampioenskap te wen. Teen die einde het die All Blacks 38-27 gewen en die algehele titel verower.

Photo by AFP Photo

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www.shmmag.co.za SHM 37

Rugby

World Cup BUILD-UP

Springbok

By Gavin Rich

Report Card

Where are we now?

When Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer met with a group of South African rugby writers for coffee on the Sunday after the 2012 Twickenham Test, he made a promise that his side has certainly managed to keep: “We’ve been a bit conservative at times this year but that’s natural when you have a bunch of new players plus a new coach and you are getting used to the style of play he wants from you,” said Meyer on a clear but chilly London autumn day.

“I liken it to driving a car.

When you are first learning to drive, it requires so much concentration that all you think about is the steering wheel, the brakes and the gears, and the other traffic on the road. But then, once you become more used to it, you are able to relax more as it becomes second nature and you can start looking at the scenery while you drive.

“We will progress to that stage next year. Our attacking game will grow a lot, and that is something I can promise you.”

Meyer has been helped this year by a much easier build-up to the serious part of the season (the Rugby Championship) than was 38 SHM November 2013

the case in his first season in charge. Italy, Scotland and Samoa on successive Saturdays on home soil was a far less daunting prospect than facing England in three consecutive Tests after just a five-day build-up to the series.

The extra work Meyer was able to put into the planning for the new season (working with a management team fully committed to him rather than also working for the Bulls) paid off, and his willingness to think outside of the box was showcased by the selection of players such as Willie le Roux. The new attacking dimension was immediately apparent in the incoming series, and it was carried into the Rugby Championship.

Whereas the Boks struggled to score tries in his first year, the

confidence they took into the Rugby Championship saw them accumulate no less than four bonus points for scoring four tries or more. And with four wins from six starts, a 100 percent improvement on last year, it enabled the Boks to reach the halfway point between World Cups having shown measurable progress.

However, as the All Blacks are the team that South Africans measure their team and coaches by, the defeat in the final match at Ellis Park was a setback. It means the

Boks have lost all four of the games they’ve played against their main rivals since the last World Cup. That the chasm between first and second appears as yawning as the one between second and third is partly because, while the Boks have grown their game over the past 12 months, so have the All Blacks. They are doing just as well as the

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

It’s just less than two years until the 2015 Rugby World Cup in the UK. Are the Springboks on track to achieve all we expect of them at rugby’s ultimate competition? SHM analyses the coach and team’s readiness – and what’s still to be done.

Springboks when it comes to bleeding new players who weren’t part of the 2011 World Cup. But then the Boks are building impressive depth as well, and there is plenty of potential for further growth for a team that has already reached a point where you feel New Zealand are the only team capable of beating them. For Meyer to hit the bullseye in 2015, though, the identifiable weak points need to be eradicated.

Meyer’s willingness to think outside of the box was showcased by the selection of players such as Willie le Roux.

The weak points

Morné Steyn enjoyed a strong southern hemisphere season and certainly thumbed his nose at those critics who wrote him off after his annus horribilis in 2012. His goal-kicking was, for the most part, exemplary; he made improvements to his

attacking game; and in the bulk of the games his field kicking was good.

However, his defence was shown up badly at Ellis Park, and question marks over this vulnerability are unlikely to go away. That will prove problematic going forward if it means that good teams like the All Blacks are able to target him.

Another area of weakness that was highlighted at Ellis Park was the second row or, more specifically, Juandré Kruger. The Bulls No 5 lock was brilliant when he came on as a replacement for Flip van der Merwe in the big win over Australia in Brisbane, but he too often gets found wanting when the going gets really physical. All Black lock Brodie Retallick appeared to be targeting Kruger for some rough treatment early in the final Championship game, and the ploy worked, with the first New Zealand try the direct product of Kruger dropping a restart. It wasn’t the only mistake he made.

Then there is the perennial question asked of Meyer about his looseforward configuration after he started his reign by jettisoning that ace

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Rugby

World Cup BUILD-UP

ball-scavenger Heinrich Brüssow. Francois Louw’s introduction to the unit halfway through last season brought the desired effect, and by having both him and Duane Vermeulen playing to the ball, the Bok play at the breakdowns appears to have improved immeasurably.

But on the one day that Louw was absent, when the Boks hosted Scotland in Nelspruit, they were found wanting, and there are also those who question whether Louw is as good against New Zealand as he is against other teams.

Potential solutions

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Steyn had made way for young Free Stater Johan

Goosen when the 2012 Rugby Championship season came to an end. Unfortunately, Goosen wasn’t able to kick on from a strong first start because of injury.

The (hopefully) temporary halt to Goosen’s development is a crying shame, for there can be no denying the young player’s awesome potential to become that rare thing in a Bok flyhalf – namely a pivot who is strong in almost all aspects of flyhalf play; somebody who can run, pass and tackle as well as he can kick. But if he is fit for the duration of next year there is still time for him to be reintroduced and given a chance to settle.

In any event, the Boks can’t approach the World Cup with

just one flyhalf, and Patrick Lambie probably should have been offered more game time in the pre-season Test matches. And then there is the precocious young Handré Pollard, who was part of the Baby Bok triumph at the 2012 IRB Junior Championship while still a schoolboy. Watch him – he has massive potential.

The No 5 lock situation has a less easy remedy, which may be why there are persistent rumours circulating that Victor Matfield may be poised to do a George Smith by returning to rugby next year. That seems a bit extreme given that Matfield is heading towards his mid-30s and his time mountain biking has

The Boks have lost all four of the games they’ve played against their main rivals since the last World Cup.

Morné Steyne Johan Goosen

40 SHM November 2013

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Pieter-Steph du Toit

made him look more like an athlete than a rugby player.

The man that Meyer seems to be eyeing is young Sharks player Pieter-Steph du Toit.

There is no denying that Du Toit packs enormous potential, and you fancy he and Eben Etzebeth will play many Tests together. But the question revolves around how quickly he is going to develop.

Then there is Andries Bekker, second only to Matfield among line-out leaders and middle-ofthe-line jumpers during the last World Cup cycle. When he left for Japan we were told he was doing it for the same reason as Fourie du Preez did, which means he hopes to return in the World Cup year with his gammy body bolstered. Du Preez is a scrumhalf, however, and backline players seem better able to move from the less physical Japanese rugby into top-level Test rugby than a second-row forward.

The strong points

Disregard the backwards step the Boks took in their breakdown work in the New Zealand game. Overall, they’ve shown enormous improvements in this area in 2013, and the return to the playing field of Schalk Burger in the Currie Cup was a reminder that South Africa has a pool of loose-forward resources that would be the envy of any other country.

Burger may well be wearing the Bok No 7 jersey on the end-of-year tour if Willem Alberts is out, and let’s not forget the strong debut turned in by Arno Botha against Italy before a cruel injury blow ruled him out of the season.

If he can regain fitness and get back to where he was, he looks to have a big future, and the same can be said for several other young loose forwards currently playing on the Currie Cup circuit.

It’s probably also beyond debate that in Bismarck du Plessis and Adriaan Strauss, Meyer has the choice of two hookers who would be good enough for any other international team. Both of them have built up a vast reservoir of experience.

Jannie du Plessis missed tackles in both matches against New Zealand, but as long as he is the only tight forward with question marks

Patrick Lambie

In the mix for 2015 The following are Meyer’s options for 2015 as it stands now, and not taking into account new players who will make their mark between now and then (players with utility value are listed in all positions they could play). backs Fullbacks Frans Steyn Zane Kirchner Willie le Roux Patrick Lambie Jaco Taute Gio Aplon

Wings Bryan Habana Bjorn Basson JP Pietersen Willie le Roux Lwazi Mvovo JJ Engelbrecht

Centres Jean de Villiers Jan Serfontein Frans Steyn JJ Engelbrecht Juan de Jongh Jaque Fourie (possibly)

Flyhalves Johan Goosen Morné Steyn Patrick Lambie Handré Pollard

Scrumhalves Fourie du Preez Ruan Pienaar Jano Vermaak Francois Hougaard

over his defence, that can be covered by the system.

He has become really good in his primary role, as has Beast Mtawarira, and you don’t get the impression the Bok scrum will be taking steps backward any time soon. Much will depend, however, on how quickly Frans Malherbe develops, and on how well Coenie Oosthuizen continues his adjustment to tighthead. Scrum coach Pieter de Villiers has done great work in his field of expertise this year.

Fourie du Preez’s return to the No 9 jersey has turned an area of potential weakness into one of strength, and it will be interesting to see how the Boks further build on having him present during the end-of-year tour.

The over-30 club

Most coaches are in agreement that for a team to stand a chance of World Cup success there has to be a nucleus of experienced players around whom talented newcomers can be introduced. New Zealand have that, and South Africa have that.

The question, though, is how many is too many?

The England team that won the World Cup in

Handré Pollard

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 41

Rugby

World Cup BUILD-UP

Duane Vermeulen

be into their fourth decade of life when 2015 rolls around. So a fine balancing act may be necessary.

Eben Etzebeth

The overseas question

2003 had the right mix, but perhaps the Wallabies of 1995 banked too much on the players who won the World Cup for them in 1991, and the same for the Boks of 2011.

In the backline, in

42 SHM November 2013

particular, the Boks are in danger of becoming an over-30s club, with Du Preez, MornĂŠ Steyn, Jean de Villiers, JP Pietersen (who should be available for the World Cup), Zane Kirchner and Bryan Habana all set to

Meyer was lauded for bringing Du Preez back to play from Japan, and he must be the envy of the other two southern hemisphere coaches for being allowed by his national union to choose players based overseas.

But in the build-up to the match against Australia in Brisbane, the potential pitfalls were drummed home when French-based players were called on to play for their clubs at a time when the rest of the squad was in Australia

preparing for the match.

Again, as with the question about older players, what is the right balance? Will Meyer find himself running out of patience if he has to frequently work with only half a squad?

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

The resources

It would be naïve to suggest everything will run perfectly smoothly for the Boks between now and 2015, but one thing is certain – the Boks have resources to draw on that would be the envy of most other nations. The provincial academies and the various feeder competitions that are taking root are beginning to produce a conveyor belt of talented players that should ensure no Bok coach ever feels he is short of raw material to work with.

Bryan Habana

Most coaches are in agreement that for a team to stand a chance of World Cup success there has to be a nucleus of experienced players around whom talented newcomers can be introduced.

In the mix for 2015 FORWARDS Eighthmen Duane Vermeulen Pierre Spies Willem Alberts Ryan Kankowski (possibly)

Flanks Francois Louw Willem Alberts Schalk Burger Siya Kolisi Arno Botha Marcell Coetzee

South African players sing the national anthem during The Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at Ellis Park (5 October 2013).

Locks Eben Etzebeth Flip van der Merwe Juandré Kruger Pieter-Steph du Toit Andries Bekker (possibly) Ruan Botha

Props Beast Mtawarira Jannie du Plessis Coenie Oosthuizen Gurthro Steenkamp Frans Malherbe Lourens Adriaanse Trevor Nyakane

Hookers Bismarck du Plessis Adriaan Strauss

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 43

Football

africans in the champions league

Watch UEFA Champions League group stage matches on 5-6 November, 26-27 November and 10-11 December. For full schedules, visit www.uefa.com 44 SHM November 2013

10 African Stars Shining Bright

By Neil Greig/Backpage Media

African football is on the rise, and it’s almost accepted that all clubs in Europe have at least one or two players from our continent in their squads.

As the UEFA Champions League group stage reaches its climax in November, these are the 10 African stars we predict will shine the brightest.

Kwadwo Asamoah DOB: 09/12/1988 Nationality: Ghana Position: Midfielder Club: Juventus (Italy)

In Europe in general, Asamoah is one of Africa's best-kept secrets. But in Italy’s Serie A, where he plies his trade, he is Africa’s most instantly recognisable player.

While the 24-year-old winger has been quietly building his star status in Italy, regular watchers of the Africa Nations Cup will know that, in both the 2012 and 2013 events, he cemented his name as one of the Black Stars’ key performers. Now the man with one of the sharpest left feet in Africa is also a key member of the Serie A champions’ set-up, playing 22 times for them during his debut season in 2012/13 following his move from Udinese. He also made seven appearances in the 2012/13 Champions League, including featuring in Juventus’ 2-0 quarter-final loss to eventual champions Bayern Munich.

Asamoah recently played a key role in Ghana's progress to the 2014 FIFA World Cup playoff round when he scored the Black Stars’ second goal in their 2-1 decider win over Zambia. Unlike some of his Ghana team-mates, Asamoah only got to play in Italy at the age of 20 and not in his early teens. Before then he was still playing in Ghana, which further highlights his all-round quality. www.shmmag.co.za SHM 45

Football

africans in the champions league

André Ayew

DOB: 17/12/1989 Nationality: Ghana Position: Winger Club: Olympique Marseille (France) The son of Black Stars legend Abedi Pelé, André Ayew made his professional debut at his father’s beloved Marseille in 2007. Initially it was felt that “Dede” was battling to realise his talent in the shadow of his famous father, but more and more he has, to his credit, carved out

his own name as an attacking midfielder who can play on the wing as well.

Ayew competed in the Champions League for the first time the same year (2007), making three appearances. But only when he was back on the highest European stage in 2010 and 2011 did the Ghanaian star really begin to make a powerful impression. Ayew will compete in his fourth Champions League campaign this season and is now one of the players to watch at Marseilles.

Ayew was voted Ghana Player of the Year in 2011, the same year that he was named BBC African Footballer of the Year.

Mohamed Salah DOB: 15/06/1992 Nationality: Egypt Position: Midfielder Club: FC Basel (Switzerland)

Remember the name Mohamed Salah, because the 21-year-old winger is considered one of the best prospects of the next generation of Egyptian Pharaohs. Salah sounded his arrival on the international stage by scooping the 2012 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Young Player of the Year Award, and has continued to make steady progress without much fuss.

Just to measure his potential, Salah is a front-runner for Africa's 2014 World Cup qualifiers’ Golden Boot award, and has scored six goals in as many group games for Egypt in their quest to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990. This has all been done against a backdrop of civil unrest in Egypt.

Salah earned his big break at the start of the 2012/13 season when he joined Basel from Arab Contractors in Egypt. He scored five goals in 29 appearances for the Swiss club that season. This year, his fourth Champions League career goal was a special one – the equaliser against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 18 September in the first round of group games; it set up Basel’s 2-1 away win.

46 SHM November 2013

Seydou Doumbia

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

DOB: 31/12/1987 Nationality: Ivory Coast Position: Striker Club: CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Fatherless and with a very young mother, Ivory Coast star Seydou Doumbia grew up under the care of his grandparents, selling handkerchiefs at the traffic lights to survive like so many of his street football team-mates. But his whole life changed when he met Athletic d’Adjame’s president Olivier Koutoua, who took him under his wing.

Doumbia became the Ivorian League’s top goal-scorer at age 17 with AS Denguélé in 2005, then made the big jump to Japan a year later, still under the mentorship of Koutoua, to launch his professional career.

The 26-year-old forward made his UEFA Champions League debut in 2011 with CSKA Moscow, whom he had joined a year earlier from Swiss outfit Young Boys. Doumbia scored 28 league goals that season in Russia, before being sidelined for most of the following campaign with recurring back problems.

He’s back in action this season and has already found his rhythm.

Together with Nigerian team-mate Ahmed Musa, he and his CSKA squad could be force in this year’s Champions League. www.shmmag.co.za SHM 47

DOB: 06/03/1987 Nationality: Ghana Position: Midfielder Club: Schalke 04 (Germany)

The Black Stars midfielder, who was born in Berlin, returned to the Bundesliga for the 2013/14 campaign after four seasons at AC Milan in Italy, which included a Serie A title in 2011/12. Boateng has played 24 UEFA Champions League 48 SHM November 2013

games for AC Milan, scoring six times, and Schalke see him as a big asset to both their UEFA campaign and Bundesliga plans.

Interestingly, Kevin-Prince won’t be the only Boateng in the Champions League this year; his younger brother, Jerome, will be in action for defending champions Bayern Munich. (Unlike Kevin-Prince, who played age-group football for Germany but decided to play

internationally for Ghana, Jerome has committed to an international career with Germany.)

It has been a stand-out year for the Ghana star. Not only did Kevin-Prince make his big move back to Germany, but he was also named as a United Nations ambassador for anti-racism.

This happened soon after FIFA named him as their first global ambassador for their anti-discrimination taskforce.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Kevin-Prince Boateng

africans in the champions africansleague in UCL

Samuel Eto’o DOB: 10/3/1981 Nationality: Cameroon Position: Striker Club: Chelsea (England)

Samuel Eto’o is considered by many as the best African footballer ever. He holds many records: the only player to win four African Player of the Year Awards; the first player to complete two consecutive trebles (League/Cup/Champions League combo with Barcelona and Inter Milan); highest goal-scorer for Cameroon; bestever goal-scorer in Africa Nations Cup history; and youngest player of the 1998 World Cup in France.

Aged just 14, Eto’o tried his luck in France with his brothers David and Etienne but failed to settle and joined the

Football

famous Kadji Sports Academy in Douala back in his home country. Back in France a few months later, he failed again after unsuccessful trials at Le Havre, SaintEtienne and Cannes, but managed to join Real Madrid’s youth team in 1996.

In October 2007, Eto’o became a Spanish citizen and, after more than 15 years at the top, the Cameroonian remains a controversial character, on the field as much as off it.

But he is also a very generous superstar.

When former Cameroon coach Jean-Paul Akono suffered a stroke earlier this year, he had to spend several weeks in France to undergo further medical exams. Akono later revealed that Eto´o had paid for everything.

The 32-year-old Eto’o is currently back in the Champions League with Chelsea, after he moved to Stamford Bridge at the end of August 2013. It would be good to see him add to his considerable goal tally.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang DOB: 18/6/1989 Nationality: Gabon Position: Striker Club: Borussia Dortmund (Germany) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a symbol of the success that can follow African players when they get into the correct system at the right age. He joined the AC Milan youth team in January 2007 and ended up top scorer with six goals in seven games in the

inaugural Champions Youth Cup a few months later.

The son of Pierre Aubameyang, a former Gabon international who played for Laval in France, Pierre-Emerick had the opportunity to join the French U23 national team in 2008, but declined the call-up and celebrated his first cap for Gabon in March 2009 against Morocco with a goal.

This season with his new club Borussia Dortmund, the 24-year-old striker

will participate in his first ever UEFA Champions League campaign.

He was the second-best goal-scorer in France’s Ligue 1 last season (behind PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimović) and his impressive showings at AS Saint-Etienne saw him earn the move to Germany.

So far he is scoring freely for Dortmund, with a remarkable hat-trick on debut, and the Gabonese hero will be one to watch closely as this European campaign progresses.

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Football

africans in the champions league

Cheikhou Kouyaté

DOB: 21/12/1989 Nationality: Senegal Position: Defender Club: Anderlecht (Belgium)

Ahmed Musa DOB: 14/10/1992 Nationality: Nigeria Position: Striker Club: CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Ahmed Musa is considered the Super Eagles’ most attacking player and much of their hopes for qualifying for Brazil 2014 rest on his shoulders.

But this should not be a problem for a man that is high on confidence and oozes class every time he pulls on the green and white of Nigeria.

The 2013 Africa Nations Cup winner was born of a Muslim father and Christian mother in a country full of diversities. After arriving at CSKA in early 2012 from modest Dutch club VVV Venlo, he had a difficult start, but has now settled down well at the Russian Army side and is rapidly making a name for himself.

VVV Venlo paid just about $300,000 for the winger/striker when he finished as top scorer in the Nigeria league with 18 goals. Less than a year later, the club earned about E5 million for him from the CSKA deal. Talk about a good investment. Musa has already justified his new price tag by helping the Army team win a league and cup double in Russia last season.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Having played in Belgium since 2007, the 23-year-old Senegalese defender Cheikhou Kouyaté originally targeted an international career for his new home, but ultimately chose to represent his native country and now this versatile defender is a player on the rise.

He was courted by both Manchester City and Arsenal during the summer of 2012, but the Anderlecht star decided to remain in Belgium as his club had qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

Kouyaté has made 70 league appearances for the Belgian champions over the last two seasons, and has been an absolute pillar of strength in their defence. As part of the

Anderlecht squad, the 2013/14 season is his third UEFA Champions League appearance; Anderlecht were eliminated in the qualifying rounds in 2010/11, but made it to the group stage last year, unfortunately finishing last in group C.

50 SHM November 2013

This will be Drogba’s 11th consecutive appearance in UEFA’s most prestigious competition.

Didier Drogba DOB: 11/3/1978 Nationality: Ivory Coast Position: Striker Club: Galatasaray (Turkey)

The story of Didier Drogba is quite remarkable. Unlike most of his Ivory Coast international teammates, he didn’t start his career at the famous ASEC Academy in Abidjan but in France. He was only five years old when he moved from Ivory Coast to stay in France with his uncle, Michel Goba, who was a professional football player. During this time, Drogba followed his uncle from club to club before going back to his parents in Abidjan at the age of eight.

He stayed in Ivory Coast until 1989, before making his way back to France aged 11 to join Dunkerque, where he started, surprisingly, as a right back. He continued to follow his uncle around the country, before settling with his parents in Levallois near Paris where he signed his first football contract at 15. Despite being tracked by several clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Drogba finally moved to Le Mans in 1997 where he made his senior professional debut a year later at age 20.

Fast forward to the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League campaign, and it’s hard to believe that this will be Drogba’s 11th consecutive appearance in UEFA’s most prestigious competition, a tournament he won with Chelsea in 2011/12, four years after being on the losing end in the final against Manchester United.

The powerful striker has scored 40 goals in the Champions League so far and Galatasary will be hoping there is still something left in the tank.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 51

Motorsport

racer profile

By Jazz Kuschke

In 2012, at the wee age of 16, Wade Young out-raced some of the world’s best motocross Enduro riders to become the youngestever winner of the iconic Roof of Africa race. We lift the goggles to find out if it was a fluke.

Wade

Young W

The road to off-road

Young started racing off-road when he was eight years old, not long after he first swung his leg over a motorbike. “We moved out here to the farm when I was six or seven,” says the now 17-year-old Young of his home near Oribi Gorge outside Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal. “All the kids on the surrounding farms and in the community were riding bikes, so their parents convinced my dad to get me a bike.”

“I started racing on a KTM 65 and did ‘hare scrambles’ and off-roads,” he says, having to check his first trophy to make sure exactly when that was.

Unlike most rising motorbiking stars, motocross (MX) never held any appeal.

“It’s an adventure,” he explains of the early attraction to Enduros. “On an MX track, it’s pretty much the same thing over and over – round the track and over the jumps – but with Enduro there’s just much more to it and everything’s a whole lot bigger – cliffs, hills…”

Young also credits his surroundings and friends as being part of the push to the discipline. “I live on a farm, so it is pretty much Enduro out my front door and all the other guys around the area are into it,” he says, before adding an insight into the character of a teenager developed beyond his years. “It’s just you and the bike. I like that vibe.”

The makings of a champion

“Mentally he’s got the capacity of a 35-year-old,” says ‘Coach Russ’ as the athletes call White. “And, he listens… to everything I tell him. He’s the full package.” A brand that echoes White’s sentiment is Red Bull, with whom Young recently signed a sponsorship deal.

The energy drink manufacturer has a massively successful sports marketing arm and motorsports is an integral part of the strategy. Athletes are evaluated on a global scale and international motorsports experts would’ve done projection studies and comparisons on Young’s future prospects. They wouldn’t have put that much-sought-after branded helmet on his head if they didn’t believe the kid was going to go far. Heard of a certain Sebastian Vettel? He raced on the Red Bull Junior Karting Team at age 11…

Much like Vettel (who once mentioned in an interview that he wasn’t great at school), Young would rather be training or racing than studying.

So much so that he started home-schooling in 2012.

“Just so I can focus more on travelling and racing,” he says, mentioning that although he’s still intent on finishing school, it’s just not the priority.

“I should have a set schedule, but I don’t,” he says.

“Pretty much I try to fit the work in when I can. It’s not the easiest thing when there’s always something better to do.” That something better, of course, involves bikes.

An average day for Young starts in his home gym, where he focuses on body weight exercises and spends some time on the boxing bag. From there he’ll do a long bicycle ride, before getting some rest and fitting in his schoolwork. The afternoon is usually dedicated to riding his motorcycle. “My new training tool is an axe,” he sort of jokes. “I go chop down trees and stuff – great for strength and cardio.”

Young believes fitness is half the race won.

It’s just you and the bike.

I like that vibe.”

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photos BY Red bull

ade has the dog in him,” says Russell White. “You get certain people in life who have that ability to just dig deeper. You know, they just don’t give up too easily.” The legendary coach has guided (among illustrious others) ex world tour surfer Davey Weare, mountain bike champion Amy-Jane Mundy and 2008 motocross world champion Tyla Rattray to the pinnacles of their codes, so he’s not about to butter up anybody. Rather than PR for his young charge, his words are of true admiration for a bike racer that could well become one of the greats.

“

Enduro 101

Enduro is a loose and generic term used to describe a variety of off-road motorbike races. The course is usually a mix of natural and man-made obstacles and is run as a number of stages on a time-trial format. International federation rules stipulate that a world championship course must be at least 200 kilometres long and no more than 30 percent of its length may be on tarred roads.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 53

Motorsport

racer profile

photos BY Red bull

“I think Wade should be racing overseas full-time.

Of course, he’s had local commitments, but he’s still young, only 17… and now with the full backing of Red Bull, the world is his oyster.” – experienced athlete trainer and coach Russell White.

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www.shmmag.co.za SHM 55

Motorsport

racer profile

“If you’re not fit, first of all, you’re going to be tired and you’re not going to enjoy it. Secondly you’re going to lose concentration… everything goes downhill from there. If you’re fit everything’s pretty sweet and you can just push on through.”

Coach Russ monitors and directs the training, but the two live far apart, so Young will usually spend a week out of the month at his training centre in Ballito. The two began working together shortly before the 2012 Roof of Africa, the race that catapulted Young into the world spotlight. “He’s helped with my diet and changed up my training,” Young says. “Also, he helps a lot with mental focus.”

On “The Roof”

“A race like Roof of Africa is more mental than others because of the very long hours in the saddle,” says Young. “There’s no one in sight for hours and it’s just you and the mountains.

It takes it out of you, thinking ‘when am I going to get back, when am I going to get back’.”

In his first year at the event, Young got back, and then some.

By winning the 2012 edition of the three-day extreme enduro through the highlands of Lesotho, he not only became the youngest racer to take the title in its 45-year history, but also the first South African winner since 2007.

Some would say winning one of toughest Enduro races on the planet so early on in your career is a fluke. But the manner in which Young took the title – beating second place by a full 11 minutes and finishing ahead of former winners such as Graham Jarvis (third) and Chris Birch, speaks of a rider possessing a lot more than luck. Perhaps even more impressive is that the 2012 event was tagged as one of the toughest in recent years, with less than half of those who entered the Pro Class making it all the way (50 of the 94 in the category failed to complete the event).

“That definitely is the biggest thing I’ve done in my career, so far,” Young says. The emotions I felt that day… that weekend are pretty much indescribable. It was a big thing.”

Asked whether he’s feeling added pressure going into the 2013 edition as defending champion, he says no. “To be honest, I tell people yes, but no, not really. I can only give it my best shot. Last year was my first year, so I learned a lot. I will be even better prepared this year and have a few little things finetuned.”

“All the top international guys are coming so it’s going to be a tough year, but I reckon he can do it,” says Coach Russ. “I know he can.”

Says Young, “Yeah, I’m going to go out there and enjoy it, but I’ll be on a mission.”

The Roof of Africa is widely regarded as one of the toughest Enduro races in the world, and as such has always attracted a worldclass international field. “The Roof,” as it’s commonly known, is classed as an extreme Enduro with riders having to self-navigate their way across huge stage distances and extreme terrain. Wade Young’s total winning race time

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for 2012 was 17hr 36min 10secs.

The 46th edition will take place from 13 to 16 November in Lesotho and will start with a spectacular time trial through the streets of the capital Maseru. It will once again be contested over three days, with both days two and three being around 200 kilometres. According to the organisers, the 2013 route will be very

different to those seen in the past, with compact, fast sections in places and with many of the traditional sections changed to include lots of passes and routes that have never been raced before.

For more info, check out www.roofofafrica. org.ls or follow the action on Twitter @ roofofafrica.

photos BY Red bull

The Roof of Africa

“My new training tool is an axe,” he sort of jokes. “I go chop down trees and stuff – great for strength and cardio.”

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 57

A South African cricket summer that promised so much for the Proteas and local cricket fans has turned into a minor act.

The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) are at loggerheads.

How did it come to this? In a twopart feature, South African cricket writer Firdose Moonda examines the BCCI’s historical ascension to cricket’s top spot; while, from India, Anand Vasu analyses the spat that has turned the BCCI and CSA into enemies.

The History of Cricket Control

It may seem difficult to believe that the same country which stands to lose millions of rands from a cancelled or curtailed visit by India this summer was home to the man who provided the money to start the first multi-national cricket body. Eastern Capeborn landlord, Abe Bailey, funded the first ICC – the Imperial Cricket Council – in 1909, as part of his efforts to facilitate matches within the “empire.”

The founding members were England, Australia and South Africa, and the body was run by an exclusive English fraternity, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Membership was 58 SHM November 2013

limited to countries that were part of the Commonwealth, and it took 17 years before India, New Zealand and the West Indies were admitted.

At that stage, the original trio gave themselves veto power to ensure decision-making would remain in their hands – the controlling had begun.

Cricket expanded at a grudgingly slow pace.

Pakistan became a member following partition with India in 1952, but it was almost three decades until another country was included and, in that time, South Africa was forced out (as a result of sporting sanctions).

Without South Africa, England and Australia held

on to their power even more fiercely. When they agreed to allow Associate members – non-Test-playing nations – into the ICC in 1965, they denied them any voting rights for six years. When suffrage rights were extended in 1971, the full members were given two votes each and Associates were not allowed to have any say on matters concerning Tests. A decade and a half later, the number of Associates grew to more than double the Test-playing countries, which meant their votes, although limited to one each, could outnumber the elite group’s.

But it never did, because in 1989 a new ICC constitution was adopted. One of the provisions was that for any resolution to be deemed binding it would need a

two-thirds majority of full members and the blessing of at least one of either England or Australia.

Throughout this time, England had a further grip on power because the ICC was little more than an extension of its own administrative body. The MCC president and secretary were also the ICC president and secretary, and the MCC was, and still is, the custodian of the laws of the game.

A number of examples exist to show how England influenced changes to the laws to suit them. In the mid-1970s, when West Indies were at their peak, largely thanks to a four-pronged seam attack, the number of bouncers were limited to two an over. That same decade, after England had been defeated both home

lords of the boards

Cricket

“If I don’t run cricket, what will I do?”

“I don't begrudge India for its strength.

What concerns me is the weakness of other boards.”

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Jagmohan Dalmiya

and away by India and their wily spin trio, a restriction was placed on the number of fielders close-in on the leg-side.

The MCC continues to remain a powerful roleplayer, although some of that power was diluted in 1993 when the MCC’s hold on the world game was released by force. At a special meeting of the ICC council at Lord’s in February that year, the muscle of the sub-continent flexed for the first time when the issue of the next World Cup was discussed.

England was scheduled to host the 50-over affair in 1995, but India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka insisted the tournament take place in their territory.

It took 36 hours of debate before England’s

Test and County Board gave in. In so doing, their control over world cricket ended.

Jack Bailey, then secretary of the MCC, wrote in the 1994 Wisden, “It was the outward and visible sign, if one was needed, that the playing of cricket as a game, so long the chief preoccupation of those gathered round the tables of the MCC Committee room at Lord’s, and pursued

India, the country that was just a small fish in England’s imperial pond 87 years ago, is now the killer whale.

invariably with an Haroon Lorgat attitude of quiet and civilised deference, had been overtaken.” little of its own profit, but that changed four years New resolutions were later. When Jagmohan passed which dissolved the Dalmiya, who was part veto powers of the founding of the committee who ran members. In June of that the 1996 World Cup and year, the International Cricket had masterminded several Council (ICC) as we know commercial deals for it now was formed, with its Indian cricket, became ICC own chief executive and its president, he proposed the own secretary. Importantly, idea of a Champions Trophy. there were some things When he sold the TV rights it would not control, and the ICC made substantial such as bilateral fixtures profits, it provided something between countries and of a blueprint for how cricket domestic cricket. could become a cash-cow.

It drew its funds Dalmiya took cricket, through member particularly Indian cricket, subscriptions and made www.shmmag.co.za SHM 59

Cricket

lords of the boards

into the age of big money.

Lalit Modi and the IPL took it into the era of mega money.

Currently, Indian cricket generates between 75 percent and 80 percent of total cricket revenue. For that reason, the country that was just a small fish in England’s imperial pond 87 years ago is now the killer whale.

When democracy loomed, India fought as loudly for South Africa’s readmission as they had done for booting the country out years before.

India were the first country to invite South Africa on a postisolation tour, and the first team to tour here. The special relationship came full circle when South Africa became the only other country to host the lucrative IPL in 2009.

Then-CSA CEO Gerald Majola

said it was South Africa’s way of extending a helping hand to their closest ally. It did not hurt that providing that assistance was financially lucrative.

When CSA announced record income of over R700 million from the 2010/11 season it was because of an India visit. They also have a 20 percent share in the Champions League T20 which is expected to make CSA in excess of R100 million a year.

All of that is now at risk, and the ICC has no authority to intervene because this disputed tour itinerary is beyond the ambit of their powers. They do not control the game, the board with the most money does. What would Abe Bailey make of that?

The End of the Friendship It’s not immediately clear whether CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat is a fan of irony or not.

When he remitted office as chief executive of the ICC in January last year, Lorgat went in inimitable fashion – amid a flurry of interviews and press conferences – and, as is always the case in such situations, he was able to be more candid about many issues when leaving than when he was in the hot seat.

Sample some of the things Lorgat said. On the imbalance between the Indian cricket board and the boards of other countries at the ICC: “I don't begrudge India for its strength. What concerns

me is the weakness of other boards. They need to find ways of generating revenue, of sustaining the game.

They cannot operate on a dependency mentality and weaken their own leadership and governance. It's not the strength of India that is a concern to me, it's the weakness of others.”

When he talks of strength and weakness, he refers, of course, to the financial clout that puts a board in a strong position. This comes from a combination of a team playing consistent, good cricket; a large home audience; and a market that can sustain this, among

The fan base, whatever percentage of 1.2 billion you choose to believe, is considerably bigger than the entire populations of several cricket-playing regions.

60 SHM November 2013

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

other things. Not every cricket-playing country in the world is fortunate to have the combination of these factors, and for the Indian board to claim all credit for the commercial success of the game in the country is disingenuous.

Here’s what Lorgat thought other boards should do with respect to the Indian board’s tendency to believe that theirs was the final word on all global cricketing matters: “Good governance is about everybody being able to stand on their own feet. If I am dominant I will get what I want because the others don’t want to challenge me.

So don’t blame me, blame yourselves.”

Today, Lorgat is on the verge of standing isolated for

practising exactly what he preached. CSA, who is paying a steep price for angering the Indian board (estimates put the potential losses from a curtailed Indian tour at R200 million), will wonder exactly what they did to deserve this.

The BCCI don’t quite see it that way. It’s no coincidence that of the 10 governing bodies that sup at the global table, the Indian one is the only one that still retains the word control in referring to itself. As far as the BCCI is concerned, its job is not merely governance, but control.

At the time of going to print, the BCCI hadn’t yet publicly disclosed what its problems with Lorgat are.

Certainly, a fiery meeting between Lorgat, when he was

The BCCI has no business making recommendations about who CSA should or should not appoint, but this is not an ideal world we live in.

Estimates put the potential losses from a curtailed Indian tour at

ICC chief executive, and Sundar Raman, the man who runs the Indian Premier League and is a growing figure of power within the Indian board, did not help.

Equally, CSA underestimated the potential for irritation caused by announcing the schedule for the Indian tour without getting the necessary clearances from their Indian counterparts. CSA officials believe this was done in oversight, born of a certain procedural naivety, nothing more. CSA officials have told various media outlets that they had multiple email exchanges with officials of the Indian board that led them to believe the full tour had been approved. So far, though, none of these emails have made it to the public domain.

The way the powers that be of the Indian board see these two acts is startlingly different. They believe they’d given CSA sufficient warning

R200 million of what might happen if Lorgat was appointed to the top job. Of course, the BCCI has no business making recommendations about who CSA should or should not appoint, but this is not an ideal world we live in.

The BCCI believes that, in choosing to go ahead with the appointment of Lorgat, having been specifically warned that the Indian tour would be threatened and more financial losses could follow, CSA had made its own bed and must now lie in it.

On the matter of the announcement of fixtures for the tour, the BCCI believes that CSA did this in www.shmmag.co.za SHM 61

lords of the boards

a calculated and deliberate manner, so as to pre-empt exactly what eventually occurred – BCCI arbitrarily curtailing the tour in order to teach CSA a lesson. The BCCI’s top brass believe that CSA put this in the public domain in order to force India’s hand. Only, they clearly don’t appreciate being forced to do anything, and have shown they are more than willing to go completely in the other direction, public perception be damned.

The reason the BCCI can act in this manner, of course, stems from the way cricket is structured in India. The balance sheets, with multiple zeros trailing every dollar sum, rival that of a major corporate. The fan base, whatever percentage of 1.2 billion you choose to believe, is considerably bigger than the entire populations of several cricket-playing regions. The BCCI, however, is a closed shop, an institution that acts more like a private club. There are 31 voting associations that make up the Indian board, and controlling a majority of these votes puts you in a position where you can act outside the bounds that limit those in positions of power elsewhere. An Indian board president cannot be removed by the public in any circumstances; he may not be removed by the courts unless he has been convicted of an offence; he is under little or no pressure from the sponsors who bankroll the game because the market is so competitive.

CSA finds itself in an incredibly tight spot because it underestimated two things: the almost unlimited capacity for pettiness among the most powerful in the BCCI, and the complete arrogance of the top brass.

The BCCI believe, rightly or wrongly, that it is unfair for other boards to want the 62 SHM November 2013

money that playing against India brings without being bound by the rules they set forth, however arbitrary.

They believe that generating an estimated 60 to 70 percent of global cricket revenues gives them the right to dictate terms.

It’s been suggested that cricket boards of the world should unite to put the BCCI in its place. The BCCI banks on the fact that such unity is unlikely, with power centres more likely to look after their own rather than band together in a larger cause.

And, in a misguided sense, the BCCI believes that even in the extreme case of such a situation occurring, they have the IPL to fall back on.

The business houses who have invested heavily in IPL franchises will be only too happy to see a longer tournament. No one in their right senses, however, would like to test out this theory.

There’s a (possibly) apocryphal story about Jagmohan Dalmiya, until recently in charge of day-today affairs of the BCCI when N Srinivasan, the president, stepped aside while a probe

The BCCI believe, rightly or wrongly, that it is unfair for other boards to want the money that playing against India brings without being bound by the rules they set forth, however arbitrary. They believe that generating an estimated 60 to 70 percent of global cricket revenues gives them the right to dictate terms.

looked into allegations of misconduct against his sonin-law. After he had served as president of the BCCI and subsequently the ICC, Dalmiya was asked why he wanted to remain a cricket administrator. “If I don’t run cricket, what will I do?” he is supposed to have said.

This is the man who was once banned by the BCCI for alleged financial irregularities, someone of whom Lalit Modi, then part of the ruling group, said: “We will throw him in jail, lock up the cell and throw away the keys.” To expect a BCCI, which welcomed Dalmiya back with open arms, and put him in charge of running the day-to-day affairs of the board, to display responsibility commensurate to the power they have, is asking too much. To expect the BCCI to do anything but look after its own interests is a bridge too far. And it is here that CSA failed to read the writing on the wall. CSA expected a degree of civility, decency and humility from an organisation that has exhibited no such traits in its long and distinguished history.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

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logistics

By James

Sunday afternoon, switch on the TV and sit back for a Grand Prix. But have you ever wondered what it takes to get 22 Formula 1 cars on the grid?

SHM investigated and found out it takes more manpower, parts, time and money than we could’ve ever imagined…

64 SHM November 2013

T

wenty-two drivers from 11 F1 teams face their toughest challenge of the year from September to November. Over nine weeks they would have criss-crossed six time zones and traveled an exhausting 68,000km. If that’s not tough enough, consider just how hard it is for each team to get these drivers on the grid in the first place.

The final seven races of the F1 World Championship present the greatest challenge for everyone involved in the sport. Leaving Europe in midSeptember, team personnel are unlikely to get another weekend off before Christmas. They’ll travel to and from Singapore to Korea and Japan for back-toback races; then onto India and

Abu Dhabi. They’ll head home for a week before the final trip to Austin, Texas and the season finale in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the end of November. In nine weeks they would have spend 80 hours in the air.

The travelling contingent for each team is around 70; this includes mechanics, engineers, senior management, physios, PR gurus, marketing folk, hospitality staff and chefs. And if you think organising transport and hotel accommodation – not to mention visas – seems a complex task, then the freight is an even bigger logistical nightmare…

Getting to a grand prix

Top teams will take over 40 tonnes of equipment to every

Roberts

race. For the European events, three trucks will drive from the UK (or Italy for Ferrari and Toro Rosso) a week in advance of the Grand Prix.

One truck will take two monocoques, spare parts, tool kits and engines. A second will take the car’s bodywork (such as front and rear wings), computer racks, hydraulics and sub-assembly.

The third and final truck will take a spare chassis, fuel rigs, the pit wall stand, the garage gantry and wheels.

Meanwhile the team’s motorhomes – which used to be a few tables and chairs next to a truck but are now super structures three-storeys high – can take another 10 articulated lorries to transport…

For the flyaway races, the circuit supplies the offices

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Formula 1

In the garage

and hospitality units, and all the freight is transported via huge crates, which have been specifically designed to squeeze into every available space in a cargo-filled airliner.

In fact, additional supplies are taken to back-to-back races in case anything is broken in the first weekend.

The planes are managed by (who else?) F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and they don’t transport the tyres and

fuel, which arrive separately.

As does all the electronic and timing equipment, safety and medical cars, plus the TV cameras and mobile TV compound that is constructed at every event. That a Grand Prix can finish in the south of Korea in Mokpo on a Sunday afternoon and all be in place again on Thursday afternoon in Suzuka, Japan is nothing short of a military operation.

With the arrival of the equipment in the pit lane, the bleary-eyed mechanics start work on building the garage, laying down their own floor (so as not to hurt their knees on the concrete) and attaching all the electronic fittings to an overhead gantry. The layout is always exactly the same. Cars front of house, fuel containers, tyres, gearboxes, engines and spare car behind screens at the rear.

In each team, one driver is based on one side of the garage and his crew concentrates on his car – with a mirrored crew working with the other driver. Each car has seven mechanics (one for the front end, two for the rear and two for the bodywork. Another looks after the hydraulics and the final one is on gearbox duty).

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 65

Formula 1 After the car is built up and scrutineered for legality by the FIA, it undergoes a rigorous series of checks before and after every session, as even the smallest problem on the car can be critical. The checklist of jobs for the mechanics includes: checking water levels, hydraulic pressure and gearbox oil; ensuring the gearshifts work and checking the exhausts and wiring loom are in good condition.

Brackets and bolts are tightened and electrics and seals are given the green light in case anything has broken in transit.

Once the cars turn a wheel for the first time on Friday morning, then a new job list is created. This comes via a chain of command from the driver to his race engineer who communicates with the chief mechanic on his car.

They will order changes to wing angles, or fit new tyres, change brake materials or

In total, 150 sensors monitor up to 500 different parameters, such as tyre wear, fuel consumption and hydraulic pressure. gear ratios, and fettle with suspension and damper settings to ensure the driver is comfortable with his setup.

Thankfully a curfew is now in place to end the all-nighter weekends, where crews would have to repair a chassis courtesy of a driver who has again “run out of talent.”

Considering the many weeks spent away from their family and friends, it helps that the mechanics do it for

the love of the sport and have worked their way up through the junior formulae (like their driving counterparts) for the

passion of the trade.

At the back of the garage are the engineers. These are the boffins who study the streams of data that flood off the car every second it runs. If you consider that every chassis is made up of thousands of components (11,000 in the chassis and another 6,000 individual components in the engine), then there are a lot of things that can go wrong. In total, 150 sensors monitor up to 500 different parameters, such as tyre wear, fuel consumption and hydraulic pressure. This information is transmitted back to the computers at the back of the garage. In total, 750 million numbers are logged every weekend and it’s up to the engineers to decipher the data and alert the pit wall if there’s a problem.

On the pit wall

At the helm is the team principal. In some cases, such as Frank Williams, he’s also the owner. But men like Christian Horner at Red Bull and Stefano Domenicali at Ferrari are paid employees reporting to the board. Some, like Horner, were failed racers, others like Mercedes’ Ross Brawn came from a technical background. They oversee the whole team and ultimately the buck stops with them.

Beneath them, the most senior members are the technical directors. They oversee the whole development of the car that races, from design stage, through construction to on-going development.

They will also weigh up the resources and budget between the current car and designing and building the following year’s model. They also consult with the heads of various departments from the engine partner to the head of aerodynamics, the head of electronics and the chief designer.

Engineering a winner

Day-to-day operations come under the umbrella of the race team, which deals with the packaging and logistics of getting to the circuit, ensuring everything is in the correct place and liaising with the

50,000

tyres a year for F1 - of which race tyres account for 25,000.

(The others are for testing etc.)

66 SHM November 2013

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Pirelli produce

FIA over rules and timetable of the race weekend. The team manager heads this up and will also accompany his driver to race control if they are responsible for any misdemeanour over the weekend. On the engineering side, the chief engineer will oversee the cars on a race weekend. Below him for each car are a race engineer, a data

engineer, a control systems engineer and an engine man – as well as the mechanics.

They will also work closely with Pirelli, the tyre supplier to get the best performance out of the rubber.

On the other side of the pits are the hospitality units situated in the paddock. And this is the domain for the PR departments, marketing staff

and commercial managers.

They work with journalists (TV, print and radio), sponsors, corporate guests, VIPs and celebrities to do what they can to help publicise the sponsors that bring in millions of dollars per annum. Working out a F1 team budget, how much is spent, where it goes and how it’s generated through sponsorship, prize money and

TV revenue – well that’s as complicated as the logistics of managing the team’s air freight!

So as you watch one Grand Prix in India and another in Abu Dhabi a week later, you’ll have some appreciation of the effort and manpower it takes to get 22 drivers just to the starting grid. After that, it’s up to them.

Red Bull Racing pitwall (l-r) Jonathan Wheatley team manager

Adrian Newey chief technical officer

Christian Horner team principal

Ensures the team is keeping within the strict regulations at every stage of the race and is in touch with race control for issues like a Safety Car or even to alert them if they spot a rival breaking a rule.

During the race Newey will co-ordinate strategy with the engineers balancing his decades of experience with the computer-generated numbers.

Oversees everything, mainly instructing his race engineers to give orders to his drivers.

Will occasionally be required to step in personally to instruct a driver in a race.

Andy Damerum race engineering co-ordinator Supervises the two race engineers and helps co-ordinate overall team strategy to try and prevent both drivers pitting together on the same lap.

Will Courtenay head of strategy

Guillaume “Rocky” Rocquelin Race engineer, car No 1 – Sebastian Vettel

Throughout the weekend he’ll gather data on the other teams, such as tyre analysis and performance levels and plots accordingly.

He tracks the progress of Vettel’s car over the weekend and finds the optimal mechanical setup. Is the direct line of communication for instructions to Vettel, be it to order a change in the car’s electronics or fuel management system.

(Simon Rennie does the same for car No 2 – Mark Webber.)

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 67

Formula 1

in the pits

the garage the garage t 1 Tyres Over the

weekend, every driver is allowed 11 sets of dry weather tyres to use.

They are wrapped in heated blankets before the driver heads out on track. Two types of tyre compound – soft and harder - must be used in the race.

3

12

2 Refueller This red

unit stands in the middle of the garage and pumps fuel into the car. It has a supply hose and a breathe hose so that it can also take fuel out.

8

3 Power supply

The overhead gantry supplies the electricity to the garage. It powers the tyre blankets and overhead lights, TVs and data monitors.

4 Toolbox Every tool sits in neat little foam compartments. This is vital, so a mechanic returns a tool to exactly where he got it. Time cannot be wasted looking for missing items.

7

2

5 Clocks/monitors

1

Every member of the team syncs their watches at the start of the weekend to the FIA’s time; this ensures the countdown to sessions or the pit-lane closure is never missed. The monitors mirror those available on the pit wall and include a GPS circuit tracker, timing screens, weather radar and race control messages.

13

6 Comms hub

Engineers plug in their laptops to observe the car’s telemetry and to communicate with the rest of the team. All the mechanics wear headsets and intercoms to speak over the noise of the engines.

11 photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

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the garage the garage 7 Air fans

Mechanics plug these into the radiators to cool a lot of the residual heat being given off when the car returns to the pits.

5

8 Scrutineers

9

4

6

These are the pit lane policemen. One scrutineer checks all the technical work carried out on the cars, while the other uses a hand-held reader to check the barcode on the side of the tyres to ensure teams don’t go beyond their weekend permitted allocation.

9 Engineers All the telemetry from the car is transmitted to the back of the garage and systems engineers look at information here.

10 Air jacks Quick release, hydraulically operated jacks to remove wheel nuts 11 Pit lane border This red line officially marks the entrance to the pit lane. If you don’t have a “red” pass, then you are not allowed past this line.

12 VIPs viewing gallery For their

10

own safety, guests stand in this seethrough box to watch events unfold without getting in the way.

13 Fire extinguisher It’s

next to the fuel for safety. Lessons were learnt after a fuel container gutted the Williams garage after last year’s Spanish GP. www.shmmag.co.za SHM 69

Rugby

end of year tour

By jean smyth

As the Springboks prepare for their annual trek northward, SHM analyses rugby’s great divide‌ Have Wales, Scotland and France got what it takes to beat the Boks?

70 SHM November 2013

t’s tough to get a feeling of where the bar is and how much of a divide there is between international sides.” That’s the verdict of French international Antonie Claassen (son of Springbok great Wynand Claassen) when asked whether he felt there was a discernable gap between the quality of the rugby played in the northern and southern hemispheres.

It’s still one of international rugby’s greatest challenges; the world game operates over two different seasons, effectively meaning that the only time teams face each another at their relative optimums is every four years at the Rugby World Cup. So as the Springboks pack their bags for Europe, they’re winding down after a mightily tough season that will officially end against a hungry French side in Paris (after difficult stopovers in Cardiff and Edinburgh). The three Tests provide a crucial litmus test for the Boks as they continue to build towards the Rugby World Cup in 2015 in England. Based on the performances of the Bok side so far this year, it would seem that they’d start all of those games as favourites.

Last year, new coach Heyneke Meyer – still far from secure in his job – took a fledgling Springbok side to Europe. There’s no doubt that last year’s winter tour suited his inexperienced charges as they ground out a 16-12 win at the Aviva Stadium over Ireland, held on for a 21-10 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield and scraped to a 16-15 triumph over England at Twickenham.

The 2013 tour, however, provides a far sterner test.

Although Wales’ record against the Springboks is dismal, this conversely means that the target on the Springbok hide keeps growing larger. Since first meeting in

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

“

I

1906, Wales have only beaten South Africa once – in 1999 in Cardiff (they also drew in 1970). It’s a record that the hosts routinely use as motivation, and since the last meeting between the two sides was a narrow 17-16 win for the Springboks (the 2011 Rugby World Cup opener), the Welsh will be more confident than ever that 2013 might be their chance.

And nobody will be more assured than Welsh coach Warren Gatland, who is still coming down from the high of leading the British and Irish Lions to a series victory over Australia; the core of that team was built around key members of his Wales squad.

Wales’ loose-forward strength is particularly impressive and includes the likes of captain Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric and Toby Faletau, while the

The Scots always possess one – perhaps even two – shock victories in their armoury per year to give their fantastic fans enough hope to keep them believing until the next one. unerring goal-kicking and coming-of-age of fullback Leigh Halfpenny sees him as perhaps their most lethal weapon.

Add to that the talent of wings Alex Cuthbert and George North and centre Jonanthan Davies, and Wales posses enough weapons to beat South Africa on the tour’s opening weekend.

Scotland is a team that Heyneke Meyer will feel comfortable preparing for, having faced them in 2012 and then also edging them in a dramatic Test in Nelspruit in June this year.

And then onto Paris where the Springboks haven’t beaten France since Pieter Rossouw glided over the Parc de Princes turf for Nick Mallett’s side to put the hosts to the sword in a 52-10 rout in 1997.

In Meyer’s final hurrah of 2013, he’ll be hoping that Philippe Saint-André’s side’s propensity to be heavy on talent but up and down on form holds true.

France's number 8 Louis Picamoles (R) defies Wales' scrum-half Mike Phillips during the Six Nations Rugby Union match between France and Wales at the Stade de France (9 February 2013).

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 71

Rugby

end of year tour

wales In recent times the Welsh rugby team has almost mirrored that of its national football team by producing a generation of exceptional talent. If we look at the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey and then compare them to players such as Sam Warburton (who was, incidentally, at school with Bale) and George North for instance, we find that in both cases they’re the cause of huge envy from neighbours England, and quite rightly so.

Although Wales’ record against the Springboks is dismal, this conversely means that the target on the Springbok hide keeps growing larger.

Sam Warburton, Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert, George North, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Mike Phillips, Toby Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric, Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard, Gethin Jenkins, Ian Evans

Record against the Springboks Played 26 Lost 24 Won 1 Draw 1

Great Welsh players

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Wales took the honours in a tight, terse Six Nations this year, losing just their opening game to Ireland at home before edging out England on points difference in a dramatic end to the competition.

2013 Welsh Lions

Welsh rugby is rich in talent but the league itself continues to struggle, especially with the lure of French and now even English clubs for their top players.

Four Welsh clubs play in the RaboDirect Pro 12 (formerly the Celtic League and Magners League), along with four teams from Ireland, and two each from Scotland and Italy. In the 2012/13 RaboDirect Pro12, the best Welsh side was Scarlets; they finished fourth on the log, but lost in the semi-finals to Ulster from Ireland.

On the European stage (Heineken Cup), none of the Welsh teams made it out of the group stages – a real worry for the Welsh Rugby Union – but the spread of their player base, and exposure at various levels in Europe, sees them pose a real threat at international level.

The battle to keep players like Warburton is ongoing, and it’s not one the region is winning, with the likes of Jamie Roberts having departed for Racing Metro in France, and more recently, George North going to Northampton. We can expect that exodus to continue.

The Welsh obsession with beating the Springboks borders on the obsessive; it’s game on in Cardiff.

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Gareth Edwards (1967-1978): Toured South Africa as part of the “invincible” 1974 British Lions; his try for the Barbarians in 1973 against the All Blacks considered by many the greatest ever.

JPR Williams (19691981): Won three Grand Slams in his career; one of the inaugural inductees into the IRB Hall of Fame in 1997.

Shane Williams (2000-2011); Wales’ leading try-scorer (58) and third on the all-time list; 2008 IRB Player of the Year.

Fixture Wales vs South Africa Millennium Stadium 9 November KO: 7:30pm

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 73

2013 Scottish Lions Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Richie Gray, Ryan Grant

Record against the Springboks Played 23 Won 5 Lost 18

Andy Irvine (1972-1982): Went on three British & Irish Lions tours (1974 vs South Africa, 1977 vs New Zealand, 1980 vs South Africa); inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.

Gaving Hastings (1986-1995): For many years Scotland’s leading points-scorer (667, only bettered by Chris Paterson); captained the British & Irish Lions on the 1993 tour of New Zealand.

Ian Smith (19241933): Played in all four matches of Scotland’s first Grand Slam in 1924; still jointly Scotland’s top try-scorer (24).

Fixture Scotland vs South Africa Murrayfield 16 November KO: 5:00pm

Scotland's Richie Gray (L) breaks a tackle from Ireland's Tommy Bowe (R) to score a try during the 6 Nations international rugby union match at the Aviva stadium in Dublin, Ireland (10 March 2013)

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photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Great Scottish players

end of year tour

Rugby

scotland At international level it always seems as if Scottish rugby plays a supporting act; a role designed to keep the so-called bigger nations in check. They always possess one – perhaps even two – shock victories in their armoury per year to give their fantastic fans enough hope to keep them believing until the next one.

Domestically they’ve savvily focused their energies on just two teams in a bid to keep their best talent within Scottish borders and to give these teams the highest profile possible on the European stage. The Glasgow Warriors featured strongly last season, with Edinburgh rugby less so, but they are making a real statement this season.

Plying his trade in Glasgow now is former Golden Lions captain Josh Strauss, who has previously said that he’d definitely consider playing internationally for Scotland if he became eligible. The Warriors (coached by former Scottish international Gregor Townsend) were losing semi-finalists in the Pro 12 last season (to Irish giants Leinster), while they unfortunately finished bottom of their Heineken Cup group with British & Irish Lions tourist, fullback Stuart Hogg, their star player.

There’s also an added bite to the Edinburgh team these days, where former Southern Kings director of rugby Alan Solomons has taken over in the same capacity. The Southern Africa flavour runs deep in the capital, with Wicus Blaauw, Izak van der Westhuizen and Cornell du Preez all on their books, along with former Grahamstown schoolboy David Denton.

Earlier this year, the Scottish team impressed on their tour of South Africa as they showed, under interim coach Scott

Johnson, a real willingness to take on the Springboks in Nelspruit. Despite eventually falling short and making use of the liberal interpretation of the breakdown by referee Romain Poite – as Johnson quite rightly pointed out – it’s a game they could have won.

In Nelspruit they were captained by the quintessential Scot in Greig Laidlaw who, despite his relatively diminutive frame, nearly led his country to a famous win over the Springboks with a superb personal display. They also had a relatively satisfactory Six Nations campaign earlier in the year, finishing third behind champions Wales and England, and beating both Italy and Ireland.

In terms of strength, Scotland relies on a loose trio that features the spiky, French-based duo of Alasdair Strokosch and Johnnie Beattie, while in former Canterbury Crusaders’ wing Sean Maitland they possess a real strike finisher.

Will it be enough? The Springboks have played in Edinburgh five times in the last decade, with one shock loss in 2010 under coach Peter de Villiers.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 75

Rugby

end of year tour

france

76 SHM November 2013

It was a tie that Castres just shaded in a shock 19-13 win, thereby denying players such as Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Joe van Niekerk and Jonny Wilkinson a unique season double.

Remember, it wasn’t so long ago that Toulon was playing in the Pro D2, but thanks to a fuel injection from their enormously charismatic and eclectic owner, Mourad Boudjellal, they have shot to the summit of the game in Europe.

The strength of the French league, and therefore its playing base, lies in the large number of clubs, previously based on rather simple principles, who now have money and are rapidly improving their professional outlook. It’s gratifying as a neutral to watch a game where on almost any given weekend one side can beat another.

As always with the French, their temperament will be tested and it’s up to the Springboks to get up the noses of Philippe Saint-André’s side in their final game of 2013. A huge ask, in Paris no less, where they haven’t won since 1997.

France love playing the Springboks, with their fans appreciating the passion and commitment with which the Boks play the game. France will be even more eager to impress after they finished bottom of the Six Nations in 2013, having lost three games, including away to Italy.

France are an outfit in transition, with a crop of hugely talented players being brought into the system, and as we head toward the 2015 Rugby World Cup, we could see them become a real force. The start of which could well be against the Springboks in Paris.

Players to watch Yoann Maestri, Wesley Fofana, Thierry Dusautoir, Camille Lopez, Bernard le Roux, Louis Picamoles, Gael Fickou, Alexis Palisson

Record against the Springboks Played 38 Won 11 Lost 21

Great French players Serge Blanco (1980-1991): Remembered for scoring the matchwinning try in the 1987 RWC semi-final; still France’s leading try-scorer (38); part of two Grand Slamwinning squads.

Philippe Sella (1982-1995): Scored a try in each Five Nations game in 1986; played 111 times for France, for many years that stood as international rugby’s record.

Jean-Pierre Rives (1975-1984): Captained France on 24 occasions (a record at the time), including that country’s first win over the All Blacks; awarded France’s Order of the Legion of Honour. photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

The domestic rugby world is currently abuzz with France’s Top 14, a league that certainly dangles the weightiest financial carrots to world rugby’s biggest stars. It’s heady, exciting and puts the spotlight firmly on French rugby. Well, that’s what the marketing people will have you believe…

The burning question, though, is how this affects the quality of the French national team?

As yet, it hasn’t prevented the country from continuing to produce some outstanding talent, with those in the know claiming that the added focus attracts more youngsters to forego the round ball for the oval-shaped one.

With some of French rugby’s biggest clubs – the likes of Colomiers, Dax and Agen – languishing in Pro D2 (the second division), it shows the strength of the game in the country and the breadth to which it is being played.

Last year’s Top 14 final featured Castres (including the league’s top-scorer South Africa’s Rory Kockott, as well as Antonie Claassen) up against arguably the world’s most talked about rugby club, European champions Toulon.

Fixture France vs South Africa, Stade de France, 23 November KO: 10:00pm

The strength of the French league lies in the large number of clubs who now have money and are rapidly improving their professional outlook.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 77

Gallery

Gymnastics

Amazing grace

Strength, agility, balance, coordination and a fierce determination to be perfect are the hallmarks of the sport of gymnastics. The 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were recently held in Antwerp, Belgium. Here’s our pick of the best images.

78 SHM November 2013

Rings Rings

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

This is where the real strength of the male gymnasts comes to the fore, as demonstrated by Koji Yamamuro and Kohei Uchimura in these photos. On the still rings, male gymnasts must perform a routine demonstrating balance, strength, power and dynamic motion, while preventing the rings from swinging.

Tough ask – you try it.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 79

Gallery

Gymnastics

80 SHM November 2013

Vault

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

America’s McKayla Maroney (left) demonstrates the difficult round-off entry, where competitors put their hands on the runway first, almost cartwheeling so that their feet land on the springboard, then they perform a back handspring onto the vaulting horse before dismounting. Phew, complicated.

No wonder she won gold.

Pictured here for the men is Japan’s Kenzo Shirai, gaining great height from his vault.

Balance beam

Just 10cm wide, the balance beam requires absolute precision as female gymnasts perform a series of leaps, somersaults and turns during their 90-second routine. Here China’s Chunsong Shang displays her suppleness and strength during a beautiful backwards somersault.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 81

Floor

Although the men also perform the floor exercise, it’s here that the female gymnasts really shine. Accompanied by music, they’ll perform a 90-second choreographed routine featuring tumbling lines, a series of jumps, dance elements, acrobatic skills, pivots on one foot – and, of course, a fair bit of creative flair. Japan’s Natsumi Sasadi shows off one of her jumps during a qualification routine.

82 SHM November 2013

Gymnastics

Gallery

Uneven bars

Only female gymnasts compete on the uneven (or asymmetrical) bars, showcasing a series of twists, releases, swings and handstands as they move between the two bars.

American Simone Biles, pictured here, won the individual all-around title at the Antwerp World Championship, edging out her US team-mate (and rival) Kyla Ross.

High Bar

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Will he, or won’t he? Germany’s Fabian Hambuchen performs a spectacular release during his horizontal high bar routine. Competitors on the high bar must complete a number of giant swings, releases and twists, before gaining great height for a dramatic dismount.

Hambuchen did all this to earn the silver medal.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 83

Game ON MOTORSPORT

Formula E

The FIA is launching an all-new racing series to take flight on 20 September 2014 in Beijing, Formula E. And as you may have guessed, it is a racing series featuring formula cars powered solely by electric motors. Ten teams of two drivers will compete in 10 cities across the globe for the inaugural season. The races will take place on street circuits and will follow the familiar event format of Formula 1. And, like Formula 1, a drivers’ championship as well as a constructors’ championship will be up for grabs when the first season ends in London on 27 June 2015.

The first season of Formula E will be

84 SHM November 2013

a single make series, with the SparkRenault SRT-01E becoming the first car to be homologated by the FIA. Built

by Spark Racing Technology in France, the car is powered by 200kw batteries provided by Williams F1 – which is the equivalent of 270bhp. In the lightweight carbon fibre and aluminium cars this means there will be no shortage of speed, especially on the planned street circuits. McLaren will provide the powertrain and electronics that will put the power on the road.

However, Formula E is designed to be an open championship and the FIA hopes to inspire constructors to develop their own racecars and electric

technology within the specifications set out by the FIA. So far, four candidates for the 10 teams to take part in the inaugural championship have been announced: four-time IndyCar champions Andretti Autosport, IndyCar team Dragon Racing, China Racing and Dryson Racing. The remaining six teams will be announced later this year with the FIA hoping to attract a variety of international teams and previous racing champions. Each team will have two drivers, and teams will have the use of two cars per driver.

The series will follow the familiar Formula 1 event format of practice,

SA SPORTS AWARDS 2013 Nominees Announced

The list of nominees for the 2013 South African Sports Awards were announced in October. The SA Sports Awards are a partnership between the Department of Sport and Recreation, SASCOC and the SABC. There are some pleasant surprises, some noticeable absences, and some mystifying choices. See for yourself and find out who wins when they are announced at a gala dinner at Sun City on 17 November 2013. qualifying and main race. However, all rounds will be one-day events, and will take place monthly – except for the Monaco and Berlin races that will both take place in May 2015. Qualifying will be a fight for the fastest lap time to make up the grid for the day’s main race, and each driver will only be allowed two flying laps to secure their slot. While racers will have use of full power (270bhp) for the preliminary rounds, during the main race power will be limited to 180bph.To encourage overtaking, races will have a “Push-ToPass” system that will temporarily boost the engine to maximum power.

Perhaps one of the most exciting elements of the Formula E series will be the pit stops. While tyre changes, save for punctures, will not be allowed, each driver will have to make two compulsory pit stops per race – in order to change cars when the battery runs out. Furthermore, the driver will have to make a 100m sprint to the recharged car at each stop.

The FIA hopes that the Formula E series will not only be an entertaining spectacle of racing, but will also encourage the motor industry to further

their research and development of electronic energy. With an emphasis on the environment, Formula E intends to become an alternative framework for car manufacturers, the same way Formula 1 has been in the past. If the racing is sensational, perhaps in a few short years we could see Formula E teams making their cars from scratch.

Formula E Calendar 20 September 2014 18 October 2014 8 November 2014 13 December 2014 10 January 2015 14 February 2015 18 April 2015 9 May 2015 30 May 2015 27 June 2015

Beijing, China Putrajaya, Malaysia Hong Kong, China Punta del Este, Uruguay Buenos Aires, Argentina Los Angeles, United States Miami, United States Monte Carlo, Monaco Berlin, Germany London, United Kingdom

Administrator of The Year • Fran Hilton-Smith • Jurie Roux • Mimi Mthethwa

Indigenous Games of The Year • Simphiwe Maphumulo • Immeraan Malgas • Masego Mogapi

Sportsman of The Year • Itumeleng Khune • Hashim Amla • Cameron Van der Burgh

Photographer of The Year • Wessel Oosthuizen • Lefty Shivambu • Duif du Toit

Sportsman of The Year with Disability • Ernst van Dyk • Hilton Langenhoven • Lucas Sithole Sportswoman of The Year • Mapaseka Makhanya • Lee-Anne Pace • Mandisa Williams Sportswoman of The Year with Disability • Ilse Hayes • Kgothatso Montjane • Roxy Burns Team of The Year • SA Rugby • The Proteas • Kaizer Chiefs

photos by FIA / formula e

Newcomer of The Year • Bianca Buitendag • Thato Tsomole • Giulio Zorzi

Journalist of The Year • Jonathan Cook • Ramatsiyi Moholoa • Cheryl Roberts Sports Star of The Year • Itumeleng Khune • Chad le Clos • Lucas Sithole • Hashim Amla • Mapaseka Makhanya School Team of The Year • Rosina Sedibane School • Sol Plaatjie High • Waterkloof High Developing School Team of The Year • Daniye Primary School • Stellenzicht Secondary School • Khayelitsha U18 Boys Hockey Team

Coach of The Year • Heyneke Meyer • Holger Losch • Graham Hill

Federation of the Year • Cycling South Africa • South Africa Hockey Association • Swimming South Africa

Volunteer of The Year • Ernesta Strydom • Sondisa Magajana • Zakes Mkhize

Recreational Bodies • Sibusiso Vilane • 702 Walk the Talk • Transplant Sports Assoc.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 85

GAME ON

Peak Performance

Situated in the Himalayas in Nepal, Manaslu is 8,163m high and is the eighth highest mountain in the world. In September, Louis Carstens became the first South African to successfully reach the summit. On his return from the expedition, Carstens commented: “Manaslu is a difficult and unpredictable mountain. We were fit and prepared but, like much in life, we got lucky, in this instance, with the weather.”

Carstens, now 51 years old, first started climbing in 1998 with a successful summit of Mt Blanc in the Alps. Totally inexperienced at the time, he recalls how he and a friend attempted the climb, much to the astonishment of their French guide, in their “disco tekkies.”

Nowadays, Carstens leaves nothing to chance and is a stickler for the best planning and equipment he can afford.

“You can’t negotiate your fingers nor toes,” he laughs.

86 SHM November 2013

Since those early days in 1998, Carstens has completed the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each continent: Kilimanjaro in Africa; Mt Elbrus in Europe; Carstensz Pyramid in Australasia; Aconcagua in South America; Mt Vinson in Antarctica; Denali in North America and Mt Everest in Asia.

He also welcomes the opportunity to introduce inexperienced amateurs to the sport. Earlier this year, Carstens co-led with a work colleague an expedition to Kilimanjaro that included 18 volunteers, many from African Bank Investments Ltd where Louis is the Group Strategist. Carstens had summited Kilimanjaro three times already and true to form, his attention to training, detail and ability lead all 18 volunteers successfully to the summit on 12 March 2013.

On his future climbing plans,

climbing Carstens muses: “There are still so many more amazing adventures to be had. One of them includes climbing Kilimanjaro as a family in about three years’ time, when my twin boys are old enough for the challenge.”

Call for Women’s Tour de France

in 1984 but by the time Pooley won in 2009, it was only four days long and consisted of only 66 riders, prompting Pooley to call it more of a petite (“small”) boucle than a grande one. Those now calling for a women’s Tour de France are also motivating for three women’s tours to be established and asking that race and stage length restrictions for women also be eliminated.

For more information: www.letourentier.com To sign the petition visit: chn.ge/16UZ14q

cycling

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

A manifesto to re-launch a women’s Tour de France was recently handed over to the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the Tour de France owners, Amaury Sport Organisation. Titled Le Tour Entier, or “The Whole Tour,” the manifesto calls for the women’s Tour de France to run alongside the 2014 event, after being discontinued in 2009 due to lack of sponsors.

The petition has attracted over 95,000 signatures, including support from Emma Pooley, the last winner of the La Grande Boucle Féminin (which changed its name from the Tour Cycliste Féminin in 1998 after organisers of the men’s Tour de France said it was a breach of trademark), Olympic medallist Marianne Vos, and World Ironman (sic)

Triathlon champion Chrissie Wellington.

Cyclist and ESPN columnist Kathryn Bertine, who claims that there are sponsors ready to back the Tour, leads the charge and indicated that the campaign will gain momentum through newly elected UCI President Brian Cookson, who had promised the return of the women’s race prior to his election in September. Cookson, who is also the president of British Cycling, recently ousted the controversial Pat McQuaid.

“We need to work closely with organisers, sponsors, teams and broadcasters to create new events on the professional calendar,” Cookson told the UK’s Guardian. “A women’s equivalent of the Tour de France is one potential solution and the focus of attention of a really successful petition.”

The women’s Tour was first contested

Emma Pooley

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 87

Heavyweight boxing is in dire straights. The Klitschko brothers hold the belts of the four major sanctioning bodies in their huge Ukrainian mitts, and there seems to be little anybody can do about it. Which would not be a problem if the fights were exciting when the challengers do step up, but the truth is that the Klitschkos are boring fighters – they sway as much as giant oaks, stomping closer and closer towards their opponents, keeping them at bay with long lefts jabs while their rights are tucked to their sides, waiting to explode for the knockout.

And they have chins of granite. Wladimir holds the WBO, IBF, and WBA heavyweight belts, and he is the second longest reigning champ in history. Older brother Vitali has held the WBC belt for close to five years and has never been knocked down. Who can dethrone them?

Well, not Lennox Lewis. Which should never have even been an option since Lewis retired 10 years ago. However, speculation about the big Brit’s return to the ring, following his comments at the tedious (Wladimir) Klitschko vs Povetkin bout on 5 October, recently flooded the media.

Suddenly there were claims that a fight was on, that Lewis would return to the ring – for $100-million. This would be the biggest fight of decade, akin to Mayweather Jr vs Pacquiao or Klitschko vs Klitschko.

However, it is not to be. “A hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question does NOT equal reality #NoComeback” Lewis tweeted a few days later. “I’m not stepping back in the ring…”

It is not surprising that Lewis caused the excitement.

Everybody loves him. Lewis gave Vitali his second, and last, defeat in a sixth round TKO before retiring in 2003. He is also the man who effectively hammered the nails into Mike Tyson’s career. The enthusiasm just goes to show how desperate boxing is for a truly big fight, or a new name.

The next big heavyweight brawl is between former WBA heavyweight champ David Haye (who lost the belt to Klitschko Jr) and undefeated Tyson Fury on 8 February 2014.

88 SHM November 2013

ice hockey NHL Kicks Off

The National Hockey League, North America’s premier ice hockey league, kicked off last month with the Toronto Maple Leafs edging out the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in the season opener.

For the 2013/14 season, the league has a realigned structure and a new season formula. Made up of 30 teams, with 23 from the USA and seven from Canada, the NHL is now divided into two conferences with two regional divisions in each conference. Each team will play 82 games in the regular season, 41 at home and 41 away.

As is typical in American sports, the season is divided into a regular season and a post-season, which includes the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Based on the regular season results, 16 teams will qualify for the Playoffs in April next year. The Playoffs themselves are a knockout tournament where teams will play several best-of-seven rounds until two teams face off in the Stanley Cup Finals. In 2014, the Chicago Blackhawks will look to defend their 2013 championship.

Western Conference Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks

Central Division Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators St Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lighting Toronto Maple Leafs

Metropolitan Division Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

boxing

The Heavyweight Conundrum

The Springbok Sevens team

rugby Rugby Sevens World Series Coming to PE in December Don’t miss the annual Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament to be held on the weekend of 7-8 December 2013 in Port Elizabeth. This will be the third destination out of a total of nine where matches are held in the competitive 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series.

The Gold Coast Sevens in Australia kick-started the series in early October and the Boks will play at the Emirates Dubai Sevens (29-30 November 2013) before arriving back in SA. Last season, the Springbok Sevens finished second on the World Series log behind

New Zealand after winning three tournament titles.

Besides great action on the field, what makes Sevens a high-energy tournament is that it becomes an entertainment-packed weekend.

Around the world, Sevens has started to become the place for those who attend matches to dress up as “weird and whacky” as they want, making the atmosphere even more fun (check the “conditions of entry” before choosing your outfit, though). On the live music bill are performances by Crazy White Boy, 1st Project and Jeremy Loops plus a battle of the DJs, with Vin Deysel of Highveld fame and KayCee and Charlton from Radio Algoa making sure everyone gets to tap their toes.

Fans will also have the opportunity to meet the Springbok Sevens squad as well as members of the other participating teams during signing sessions, a coaching clinic and various other activities taking place in the area.

Tickets are affordable and range from R50 – R150, available at all Computicket outlets, by smsing “Sevens” to 44440 (R1/sms), or visit www.southafrica7s.co.za.

1. Chris Dry (28) 2. Philip Snyman (15) 3. Frankie Horne (50) 4. Jamba Ulengo (6) 5. Cornal Hendricks (16) 6. Kyle Brown (33) – captain 7. Sampie Mastriet (2) 8. Stephan Dippenaar (14) 9. Justin Geduld (4) 10. Cecil Afrika (24) 11. Mark Richards (7) 12. Steven Hunt (19)

Scrumhalf Branco du Preez and wing Seabelo Senatla were unable to play at the Gold Coast Sevens due to injury.

Du Preez is recovering from hip surgery and should make his return to action early in December. Junior Springbok Senatla is out with a lower back injury.

Coach: Neil Powell Assistant coach: Vuyo Zangqa

After South Africa, next stops on the World Series are: USA New Zealand Japan Hong Kong Scotland England

24-26 January 2014 7-8 February 2014 22-23 March 2014 28-30 March 2014 3-4 May 2014 10-11 May 2014

Giveaway SHM is offering 75 lucky readers a set of 2 tickets to either Saturday or Sunday matches in Port Elizabeth. Simply email sevens@shmmag.co.za with your name and cell number, tell us where you heard about SHM mag and the tickets could be yours. Entries close 30 November.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 89

LUCAS SITHOLE STATS

TENNIS WHEELCHAIR CHAMPION SITHOLE

When Lucas Sithole arrived back in South Africa in September, he was triumphant. He had just taken the title of the first African to win a Quad Grand Slam by beating world number one, American David Wagner 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. This achievement puts Sithole at No 2 in the world rankings. He has subsequently been nominated in two categories for the SA Sports Awards 2013: Sportsman with a Disability and

Greatest strengths: Competitive character, speed and agility, will to win Plays: Left-handed Hobbies: Listening to music Special diet: No Tennis aspirations: To be the best player in the world and win a medal at the Paralympics 2016 Coach: Holger Losch / Kgotso Matshego

Birth date: 30 September 1986 Home: Newcastle, KZN Division: Quad’s division Disability: Triple amputee International Ranking: World No 2 (September 2013) National Ranking: SA No 1 Career titles: 37

Sport Star of the Year. His coach, Holger Losch, was also nominated as Coach of the Year. (Winners will be announced Sunday 17 November 2013 at the Superbowl at Sun City.)

In a relatively short period of time, Sithole has become a player of note.

He only started tennis in 2007 and his first real professional training began in 2010. In 1998, a terrible train accident resulted in the amputation of both his legs and his right arm. Sithole was just 12-years-old and living in Dannhauser

in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Though he is full of optimism and confidence today, he recalls that time as being very difficult. “I had to learn to write again as I was right handed, learn to dress myself with one arm. The community and my friends found it difficult to accept my circumstances and I had to deal with that acceptance and rejection.”

One of the toughest aspects for the young Sithole was not being able to play soccer with his friends. “I had to learn to accept myself,” he says. What helped

“Nothing is impossible.

That’s why I try and fail, but I don’t fail to try.” – Lucas Sithole

GAME ON was that his parents registered him at Bumbisiswe, a special school for pupils with disabilities in Emadadeni.

He later moved to Filadelphia School in Shoshunguve, Pretoria to complete his secondary education. It was here, when Wheelchair Tennis SA (WTSA) came to visit, that he first saw a tennis game. Soon, Sithole was training with WTSA and director of Wheelchair Tennis South Africa, Holger Losch was impressed: “Lucas has the perfect mind and body for tennis. He is light, agile and uses his strengths to his advantage.

Lucas always plays to win.”

WTSA has grown dramatically in the past decade, from 18 players in 2004 to over 500 players in 2012. They offer programmes in over 45 centres and schools across SA with camps and clinics through out the year. WTSA attributes much of its success to the sponsorship of Airports Company South Africa during this time.

Hopes were high for Sithole in the 2012 Paralympics in London, but he suffered a set back and was knocked out quite early. But it was a narrow loss to the No 1, David Wagner, so Sithole says he was able to stay very positive, convinced that he could beat him the next time. His recent victory over Wagner is proof. In November, Sithole will likely come up against Wagner again as they meet at the US Masters in California. If he wins, he moves up to No 1. Sithole is now fully immersed in his intensive training programme on court and off – working out six days a week for approximately five hours a day as well as a mix of support services such as physiotherapy and sports psychology.

Asked what the first thing is he tells a young person who wants to take up tennis, Sithole says: “Work hard and do not give up on your dream. It is possible to be the best in the world.

You are able.” Nowadays when Sithole returns home to Newcastle, his friends and family treat him like a celebrity.

Which he is.

Find our more about WTSA The WTSA programme is vast and covers all aspects of the game: introduction, player development, equipment and tournament assistance. They have over 45 special need centres operating and running in nine provinces and are currently heavily biased towards the previously disadvantaged areas. To open and fund a new centre WTSA requires a minimum of four players. If any individual would like to take up the game they can contact Patrick Selepe 082 679 3768 or visit www.tennis.co.za/about-wtsa.

female SPORTS stars SPAR gsport Awards

Next tournament ACSA Strand Open Cape Town 5-8 December 9:00am – 4:00pm Entrance is free

Also look out for Kgothatso Montjane, fondly known as “KG,” is SA’s No 1 player in the women’s division and ranked No 6 in the world.

She has only been playing since 2000 but recently became the first African and South African woman to reach a semi final at a Grand Slam, the Roland Garros 2013. She has also qualified twice for the Paralympics in 2008 and 2012 and is aiming for Rio 2016.

On 20 November, 200 top women in sport, media, entertainment and business will gather to pay tribute to outstanding individuals in women’s sport in South Africa. An online nominations process was run by gsport for their 5th annual award across eight categories. Nominations are now closed, but a short list of three women in each category will be posted online from 30 October to 13 November for public voting. Last year, Olympic silver medallist Caster Semenya won the 2012 SPAR gsport Athlete of the Year award, beating off stiff competition from fellow Olympic medallist Bridgitte Hartley and South Africa’s most capped athlete, national hockey captain Marsha Marescia (see our October issue).

Award categories include: • Athlete of the Year • Athlete of the Year with a Disability • Up & Coming Athlete of the Year • Woman of the Year • Woman in Media • Style Star Award • Coach of the Year • Volunteer of the Year Show your support for women in South African sport and go vote at www.gsport.co.za/nominations. www.shmmag.co.za SHM 91

GAME ON

motorsport

Only in Texas The Big Hoss

Texas Motor Speedway recently announced the construction of the world’s largest high-definition video board. It is being built by Panasonic and will be ready to debut 3-6 April 2014 at the Texas 500 NASCAR Doubleheader.

Dubbed the “Big Hoss,” the behemoth of a video display board will feature a staggering 1,916.9 square metres of HD display – more than three-quarters of a rugby field – with dimensions of 66.45 metres long and 28.83 metres wide. The entire structure will stand nearly 38 metres above ground level and weigh more than 108 tons.

92 SHM November 2013

The 1080 pixel screen will consist of nearly 4.8 million pixels, display 281 trillion colours and feature a 140-degree horizontal viewing radius to provide rich, high-definition imagery for race fans in every front stretch seat and suite of Texas’ largest sporting facility. For those fans in backstretch seating, Panasonic also will be installing an 5.5m x 7.3m, 1080 pixel HD video board on the infield side of the backstretch.

Texas Motor Speedway, with a crowd capacity in excess of 190,000, is among the largest sports stadiums in America and is considered one of the premier venues in the world of sports. Known as “The Great American Speedway!,” the 1.5-mile superspeedway located in Fort Worth plays host to two races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series as well as one in the IndyCar Series.

Khayelitsha Development

Cricket SA recently announced a quota system for senior cricket that belies the excellent developmental work that has been taking place at different levels and in different places across the country.

Maurits van Nierop was born in 1983 Cape Town and later moved to the Netherlands with his parents, where he would later represent his country on the cricket field. He also played hockey for the national youth team. In 2006, Van Nierop returned to South Africa to work on cricket development in the Cape, but tragically passed away in 2008 at the young age of 25. His family then set up a foundation in his name in order to continue the work he was doing – offering young African children the opportunity to participate in sport. The foundation also supports children with learning disabilities.

Since 2002, Ryan Maron’s Cricket School of Excellence (CSE) has had close ties with the Samora Machel Cricket Club in Khayelitsha. When Van Nierop arrived in South Africa in 2006, he threw his weight behind CSE’s developmental efforts, so it was only fitting that the foundation created in his name would focus part of their important work on the continuation of these efforts. Since then, up to 15 Khayelitsha juniors attend each CSE holiday cricket clinic, and several of their coaches are also involved on a regular basis. At end of each year, three young cricketers in different age groups receive the Maurits van Nierop Trophy in recognition of their loyalty and dedication to their team and the game.

The grassroots development work done by the respective parties involved in this initiative serves as a great model of what has been and can be achieved in this country and if your company feels inspired to help make a change, you can learn more at mauritsvannieropfoundation.org.

cricket

SA Racer FIA Pick

Kelvin van der Linde, SHM’s “Rising Star” for August 2013, has earned a spot in the FIA’s 2013/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy. The 17-year-old from Johannesburg will take part in the fully-funded programme in December after a unanimous decision by judges during a three-day final selection procedure that tested driving ability, fitness, understanding of safety, and vehicle dynamics.

Van der Linde is the reigning South African Volkswagen Cup champion,

and currently leads the German-based Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup after dominating the 9-race series with four wins. With one race remaining at the time of writing there are 60 points up for grabs and Van der Linde leads by 43 points, ahead of second place Kasper Jensen from Denmark.

If he wins, Van der Linde will have won two national racing series in as many years – it is no wonder that he was chosen to follow in the footsteps of numerous Formula 1 and WRC drivers who have gone through the FIA academy.

MOMENTUM ONE DAY CUP FIXTURES

The Momentum One Day Cup reaches fever pitch early this month. Fans will be looking forward to a clear victor this season after the Highveld Lions and Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras shared the title last year. Our own “Rising Star” for this month [page 15] Beuran Hendricks will be looking to knock down the opposition and help the Cobras to a third consecutive title. Don’t miss any of the action.

Date 6 Nov 6 Nov 8 Nov 8 Nov 8 Nov 12 Nov 15 Nov

Team Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras Chevrolet Knights Chevrolet Warriors Sunfoil Dolphins bizhub Highveld Lions 2nd Place Qual 1st Place Qual (Final)

vs Team Stadium, Location vs Chevrolet Warriors Boland Park, Paarl vs The Unlimited Titans Chevrolet Park, Bloemfontein vs The Unlimited Titans Buffalo Park, East London vs Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban vs Chevrolet Knights Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg vs 3rd Place Qual TBA vs 2nd/3rd Place Qual TBA

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 93

GAME ON

Wild sport

of the Month

2013 Champions Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt negotiate Cradock Weir on their way to winning the men’s title on day two of the 2013 Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon.

aqua CANOE MARATHON

The Durban duo of Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt wrapped up their fourth successive K2 title at the Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon in September. Whilst McGregor and Van der Walt were untouchable up front, the countless to-ing and fro-ing amongst their chasers kept the crowd on the edge of their seat throughout.

Ben Biggs and Alasdair Glass tried their best to hang onto their second place; however, pre-race title hopefuls Len Jenkins and Greg Louw and top international duo Tobias Bong of Germany and Tomáš Slovák of Czech Republic had other plans. Having charged through the field after starting the second day in fifth position, Bong and Slovák proceeded to storm straight past Jenkins and local lad Louw and into a probable second place finish, 94 SHM November 2013

until disaster struck at the notorious Cradock Weir. “They were going so fast that they couldn’t even stay in sync anymore! I have never seen anything like that!” said Jenkins. But, with Bong and Slovák’s misfortune it was Jenkins and Louw who ultimately claimed the silver medal.

In the ladies’ race Abby Adie and Anna Adamová cruised to a commanding victory. Adamová, who recently won a K2 bronze and K1 silver medal at the Marathon World Championships in Copenhagen, said, “The past two weeks have been amazing. I would probably rank both Worlds and Fish on the same level – they have been fantastic!”

With the 2013 edition of the popular Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon a thing of the past, river paddlers are now turning their attention to KwaZuluNatal’s and the Ozzie Gladwin Canoe Marathon in November. The 28km clash provides numerous Dusi title hopefuls with an ideal early test, particularly as top combinations look to assess their Dusi compatibility and aim to secure a favourable rating in the first Dusi seeding race of the season. McGregor and Van der Walt will be racing there too. The 2013 Ozzie Gladwin Canoe Marathon takes place on Sunday 10 November. More information at www.ozziegladwin.co.za.

photo by: John Hishin/Gameplan Media

AQUABIKE

Jet Ski, WaveRunner, Sea-Doo, Polaris.

You may recognise some of these as the trade names for the general category of Personal Water Craft (PWC). Originally called water scooters, PWCs are recreational craft that seat one to four passengers and can, for some, make a weekend at the lake or the beach a blast, while for others, the constant hum of the engine is considered a disturbance of the peace. When put on a race course or submitted to adrenaline-fuelled acrobatics, regardless of what you think about them on holiday, however, you will be impressed by what these machines, and the people who drive them, can do.

The UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro World Championship series is currently taking place across the globe and competitors are vying in three types of events: ski and runabout on a closed course and freestyle.

Closed course racing is a contest of speed and riding ability featuring several competitors negotiating multiple laps consisting of left and/or right hand turns.

Freestyle is intended to show a rider’s skill and expertise in executing difficult, challenging and creative manoeuvres within a set period of time. There is a two-minute time limit and the winner is determined by a panel of judges.

While ski and runabout are breathtaking for their velocity and sharp turns, it is the big-air jumps and stunts of the freestyle competition that often gets the crowd gaping with awe. Some of the more popular tricks have names such as aerial barrel roll; yellow submarine; Hollywood corkscrew; sprung monkey; kilowatt flop; ride ‘em cowboy; bull doggin’ and many more. For more on the races or to get results go to www.aquabike.net.

PHOTOs by: Vittorio Ubertone/ABP

The UIM-ABP Aquabike series has been to Italy and China so far this year and heads next to the Middle East, where Qatar will play host 13-16 November and Abu Dhabi will see the final event of the year from 29 November – 1 December.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 95

Health

science By chARL DU PLESSIS

blood & sport T

he Romans captured wild beasts. They transported them by the thousands from across their Empire to Rome to be slaughtered in simulated hunts in the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum.

Panem et circenses (Latin: bread and circuses). So wrote the Roman poet Juvenal to describe the manner in which

Blood Sports

If you thought that blood sports only involved animals then, think again.

Blood is central to human entertainment and to the entertainment value of several sports. It is the very symbol of life and death, of victory and defeat, and also of the sacrifice made in pursuit of glory. When the first blood is drawn in the boxing ring, the crowd moves to the edge of

96 SHM November 2013 2013

their seats and hearts pump faster. The smell of adrenaline hangs in the air. If this were a mere ten thousand years ago, spears would start stomping the ground rhythmically with oomff and aampff sounds. An early rendition of “Olé, Olé, Olé.”

Since gladiator days, luckily, our eyebrows have receded somewhat and we have grown less hairy nostrils (a reference just for our readers

Emperors laid on free wheat and free games in order to survive politically. He would have been more accurate if he added “blood” (cruor in Latin) to the mix, as the popularity of these games and their Emperor hosts were directly proportional to the amount of bloodshed witnessed.

By one account, the opening of the Colosseum saw 9,000 creatures killed before the first human gladiator even walked into the arena.

Fast-forward to modern popular culture if you think that such blood hunger was a primitive instinct only befitting the ancients. The guy who supplies Hollywood with

fake blood lives a charmed life. The Hunger Games – an action movie where a young woman, really still just a girl, has to fight bloody tooth and nail in an artificial dome to survive when pitted against other human contestants (or “tributes” as they were called) – grossed $500 million.

At the same time, eight out of the 10 box office hits screened right next door on the circuit also probably had some degree of blood and gore.

And then there are the Paul Verhoevens and Quentin Tarantinos who built their reputations on painting the silver screen red…

who enjoy Asterix). We have also learnt a thing or two about blood. For instance, that we do not need leeches to suck blood to cure typhoid, the black plague or ingrown toenails. Also, that blood can kill when it transmits infectious conditions that are not observable by the naked eye. We now treat blood injuries on the school playground and on the sport field with latex gloves as

HIV/AIDS has reshaped the way we live in the world.

But that is only one narrative regarding blood. What is also exciting to talk about are the amazing breakthroughs in health and performance science that can be attributed to our growing understanding of the role and essence of blood in our physiological make-up. And it’s only the beginning. Below, we look at Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Platelet-Rich Plasma (Prp) Therapy

When the first blood is drawn in the boxing ring, the crowd moves to the edge of their seats and hearts pump faster.

(PRP), a more extreme form of autologous blood injection (ABI) therapies. ABI is really just a fancy way of referring to the re-injection of a patient’s own healthy blood into an affected area in order to speed up recovery.

Captain Fantastic’s Ribs

There are few injuries that can grind out discomfort like those to the ribs. You do not even need to break them. Just crack or bruise a few and try to take a deep breath, or sneeze.

It is an agony that keeps on surprising you at every turn.

Springbok rugby captain Jean de Villiers has done in his ribs a few times. He can tell you all about that pain, and also about the heroics of players trying to get back on the field too early, only to last until the first tackle hits the short rib. No mere human could possibly handle

that pain. Those spy torture movies where deep secrets are kept and where heroes never crack under the worst kind of inflicted pain? Absolute hogwash – just wallop one or two hits into a cracked short rib and all the yellow cake and stolen nukes in the world will instantly re-appear. We might even learn who killed the Kennedys.

De Villiers, our Captain Fantastic, tore his rib cartilage in the Bok’s opening game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup against Wales in Wellington. According to Liz McGregor, author of Springbok Factory, a book full of insights into what it takes to become a Springbok rugby player [see our Books page 20], De Villiers faced the prospect of having to

head home right at the start of his third World Cup campaign. Obviously, it would have been a huge disappointment for both the individual and for the team.

But, as McGregor describes, the team doctor, Craig Roberts, had other ideas. He drew some of Jean’s blood and put it through his centrifuge in order to spin out concentrated blood platelets. With the help of an ultrasound that travels with the team, Dr Roberts accurately determined the exact location of the injury and injected De Villiers in that spot with a mixture of highly concentrated platelets suspended in plasma.

Dr Roberts tells McGregor: “We have managed to return guys to play 40 percent quicker, but only for certain specific things. What it works really well with is rib cartilage injuries like Jean’s. By using the platelet rich plasma injection, we will be able to

What is Blood?

What do we know about blood, where it comes from and why we need it?

There’s an old Afrikaans expression used to toughen up young boys that refers to getting some “marrow in your bones” (murg in jou pype). Blood, this essential liquid that circulates through the body to deliver necessary oxygen and nutrients, and to remove waste products (including carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid), originates in the bone marrow. Mostly so in the marrow stored in our vertebrae, ribs, sternum, skull and hips, where deposits of fat, some blood and stem cells combine to create a constant new supply of blood cells. If you don’t have marrow in your bones, as the expression urges, your survival odds are pretty lean.

Blood performs secondary functions, too, as it transports white blood cells to fight off invaders.

It helps to regulate our acidity (pH) levels and it also carries hormones to all different parts of our bodies so that these may perform their specific functions. Our blood supply helps us to maintain the correct body temperature as it moves hot or cold blood between our core and our extremities. On hot days, more blood flows to the skin surface where the heat results in a cooling sweat. On colder days, blood flow is concentrated around the deeper core organs. Of particular relevance to our interest in PRP is the fact that blood is the carrier of platelets,

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 97

Health

science

get him back quite quickly.

Some muscle tears, it works well. You take the patient’s own blood, spin it down and then you extract their platelets and then inject the platelets suspended in plasma back into the injured area. So it’s the platelets that do the healing.”

Regulation vs Efficacy If you think if sounds a bit hocus-pocus and only

98 SHM November 2013 2013

two steps removed from the leeches, take note: with effect 1 January 2011, the World Anti-Doping agency (WAD) removed Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy from its list of prohibitions. In an accompanying statement, WAD explained their decision as based on the fact that they found no clear evidence of performance enhancement through PRP. This statement could, of course, be interpreted in two very

It appears, then, that PRP therapy is here to stay, even though as one medical journalist claims, “Its popularity has gotten ahead of scientific evidence.”

different ways.

One interpretation could suggest that it is pretty much useless altogether; that the claim that concentrated platelets deliver an abundance of growth factors (other than human growth hormone) which accelerate healing has not been scientifically substantiated. The other interpretation could be that it is an effective therapy and works in a fair and harmless

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Willem Alberts of South Africa with team doctor Craig Roberts during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at Ellis Park in Johannesburg (5 October 2013).

manner. WAD ruled that the use of individual growth hormones remains prohibited, whereas PRP’s theoretical underpinnings are based on the body’s faster production of up to 10 different growth elements.

So, whether WAD found the PRP practice acceptable because it relies on an athlete’s own blood, or because it contains a natural cocktail of growth factors, one cannot be sure.

Regardless, the practice has been accepted and its proponents are now free to use the method. It is up to the medical research community to establish its efficacy; to conclusively prove that there is substance to the method and that it does not rely on a placebo effect. Studies have already been presented at medical conferences that found that PRP was effective at treating

Dr Roberts accurately determined the exact location of the injury and injected Jean [de Villiers] in that spot with a mixture of highly concentrated platelets suspended in plasma. chronic tennis elbow, severe Achilles tendonitis and osteoarthritis of the knee, so things seem to be moving fast in that direction. Yet, some studies, among them one that involved rotator-cuff patients, have come up with quite the opposite conclusion.

A purported placebo effect may be more than

An apheresis machine used to extract platelets and some plasma from a donor's blood.

just psychological. Some medical critics of PRP therapy state that the process of administering an injection, independently of what is being injected, causes some bleeding and bruising in the area of injury that naturally leads to a higher supply of inflammation-induced growth factor and therefore a speedier recovery.

For Dr Roberts, Jean de Villiers and hundreds of athletes who have gotten back into top competitive form quicker and have seen the benefits, one has to assume it is of little consequence whether the research eventually bears out a conclusive message.

In good time, regulation will follow the science best advocated, as it always does.

It is hard to argue against the results of someone like Tiger Woods, who has used PRP on his knee on four occasions and went on to win titles. And, there are many other claims of success at the highest echelons of sport across the globe.

What has certainly not done the cause of PRP therapy any good was the 2009 case of a pioneering Canadian therapist arrested on entry into the US for carrying Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and another banned substance called Actovegin.

Having at times treated Woods, Olympian sprinter Donovan Bailey, and up to 20 other top athletes, the fears were expressed that some of his apparent success with PRP therapy might have been attributable to the illegal mixing of HGH and other illegal substances into the concentrated platelets before re-injection. This was never proven, as the Toronto-based Dr Anthony Galea entered a plea bargain with US courts in 2011. The US anti-doping agency did, however,

WHAT IS BLOOD? continued whose primary function is to help with the clogging of blood.

Blood really consists of a combination of plasma (watery liquid) and the cells that float in it. Plasma constitutes 55 percent of blood fluid in humans and other vertebrates and, apart from water and the aforementioned blood cells, plasma also contains carbon dioxide, glucose (sugar), hormones and proteins.

When it comes to these blood cells, the most critical element is the red blood cells (RBCs), which are shaped like slightly indented, flattened disks and contain haemoglobin, the protein containing the iron necessary to transport oxygen from the lungs to body tissues and cells. About 97 percent of a human's RBC’s dry content is protein. A RBC spends about four months in our circulatory system before the spleen and the Kupffer cells in the liver degrade them.

As they pass on, the marrow supplies new cells.

About one percent of our blood supply is made up of white blood cells – these are the “little soldiers,” as we learnt at school, because they defend against infections, foreign materials and abnormal cells, such as cancer cells. Lymphocytes and granulocytes are types of white blood cells that can move in and out of the bloodstream to reach affected areas of tissue.

There are normally between 4x1010 white blood cells in one litre of blood.

Finally, the platelets that are the focus of our attention in this bloodspinning therapy discussion are called thrombocytes and are primarily responsible for the clotting (coagulation) of blood. When we bleed, the platelets clump together to help form a clot.

Once exposed to air, the platelets break down and release fibrinogen into the bloodstream. This sets off a series of reactions that result in the clotting of blood in, for example, a skin wound, where a resulting scab is formed.

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Health

science

express their scepticism with a therapy that he was “conducting in back alleys and cheap motel rooms,” suggesting that if it was all above board, he should have acquired the appropriate license.

Other PRP Applications

Sport scientists are by no means the only practitioners interested in PRP therapy. In fact, they are Johnny-comelatelies, as PRP therapy has been used in dentistry since the 1970s and since the mid1990s to aid bone healing after spinal injury and for soft tissue recovery following plastic surgery. A significant amount of the initial research and development in this area stems from the cosmetic surgery industry, and we also came across local research in South Africa where leading specialists in the area of dental surgery have conducted tests on the effects of PRP therapy on bone density for the sake of dental implants.

For older patients suffering from muscle, ligament and tendon aches and pains,

the therapy has a variety of applications, although some of the personal accounts we heard warn that it may be one of the most excruciatingly painful therapies to experience. The pain is the result of tissue that normally does not carry a lot of fluid suddenly having to cope with the injected fluid. (We would suggest, therefore, a conversation about pain tolerance with your surgeon before you willingly submit to this therapy, judging by how strongly outspoken some people are about the experience).

Further reported cases where PRP was used as therapy include plantar fasciitis (an inflammation of the bottom of the foot), ankle sprains, hamstring sprains, calf strains, oblique strains, the strengthening of tissues in bypass operations and as an alternative to facial fillers used by plastic surgeons and dermatologists.

It appears, then, that PRP therapy is here to stay, even though as one medical journalist claims, “Its popularity has gotten

ahead of scientific evidence.”

Too many top sportspeople have already experienced some positive benefit from the therapy that even if comprehensive research studies, using large samples of human subjects with control groups, eventually point in the opposite direction, its proponents would unlikely give it up unless under regulatory fiat.

The more conservative view still advocates having patients first trying physical therapy or antiinflammatories, or at least until such time as when medical professionals are

plasma, rich in platelets, into that spot.

What proponents believe happens next is that the platelet-rich plasma carries a multitude of PDGFs, or platelet derived growth factors, typically responsible for cell growth and division, and that in this concentrated injected form the PDGFs now get to work in healing the affected tissue faster than normal.

The molecular biology that informs the processes at work here is hardly in dispute among researchers. (We were tempted to describe these processes in

detail, yet it would turn our sports magazine into a medical textbook rather than a relaxing read). It is commonly agreed that a higher concentration of PDGFs has the desired therapeutic effect. The main focus of disagreement and target for future research is whether PRP is necessarily the only or best way of delivering the growth factors; at what levels and at what frequency it can be delivered, and with what possible side effects. Bear in mind that uncontrolled angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) is a characteristic of cancer and

agreed upon the amount of blood, the frequency of injection, the particular pathologies where PRP works best, as well as several other areas of lingering doubt. Should future research show that PRP therapy does indeed work and we have a full understanding of exactly why it works, then there are myriad applications for not only improving the lives and comfort of an ageing population, but also allowing hardworking athletes, like a Jean de Villiers, a less injuryinterrupted opportunity to shine in their relatively short careers.

We have learnt a thing or two about blood. For instance, that we do not need leeches to suck blood to cure typhoid, the black plague or ingrown toenails.

Approximately 30 millimetres of blood gets extracted from a vein in a healthy, unaffected arm or leg of the athlete. An anti-clotting agent is likely added to the tube in which blood is collected to keep it liquid. The blood then goes into a centrifuge, where it is spun at about 2,400 revolutions per minute for about 15 minutes, although this could vary among practitioners. As a result, the blood separates into a light liquid on top (leukocytes or white blood cells), plasma in the middle, and the heavy red blood cells at the bottom.

The doctor now uses sonar to determine the precise injured tissue and then injects the

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that platelet-derived growth factor plays a significant role in angiogenesis.

PRP therapy is a quick and simple procedure and not a very expensive one, although very few US insurance companies will cover the treatment due to its inconclusive nature and the need for on-going research.

We have not come across any local instances where a medical insurance company did not approve the therapy, yet we would recommend you first verify with your doctor or insurer if you want to avoid an unpleasant and costly surprise.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

How PRP Therapy Uses Blood

Official Associate member of SARU

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Health

fitness

10

Misconceptions about exercise and training

In the first of a series of articles from sports science professionals, SHM brings you some myth busters about getting fit and staying fit, courtesy of Prof Elmarie Terblanche, Chairperson of the Department of Sport Science at the University of Stellenbosch. Prof Terblanche writes about research of a practical nature and addresses questions that are of relevance to athletes at all levels.

Have exercise misconceptions prevented you from starting an exercise programme?

Clear up any confusion and let these exercise tips improve your workout routine.

1

Myth # .

I will burn more fat if I exercise longer at a lower intensity So you’ve heard about the “fat burning zone.”

In other words, if you want to lose weight, you need to exercise at

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a low intensity (a low heart rate). What few people realise is that you actually burn the highest proportion of fat while at rest (around 70 percent of your energy comes from fat) and by now we know that being a couch potato doesn’t make you thin. The most important

focus in exercise and fat weight control is not the percentage of energy coming from fat during exercise, but the total energy cost of exercise, or how many calories are burned during the activity.

The faster you walk, step or run, for example, the more calories you use

per minute. Therefore at low exercise intensity, you need to exercise for a very long time (far more than an hour per day) to match the total energy expenditure of a high intensity workout.

There is a growing body of research supporting the use of high-intensity

interval training for fat loss. This form of “cardio” takes less than half the time (typically 12 to 20 minutes) of traditional long duration cardio and leads to better results, i.e. faster and greater fat loss, more rapid improvements in fitness and better exercise adherence.

2

Myth # .

Go hard or go home!

If this is your kind of thinking, you will never start or maintain an exercise programme.

There is overwhelming evidence from research that one should rather do something than nothing, and that every little bit helps. For example, regular walking or gardening for as little as an hour a week has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. You will not necessarily be able to run a marathon or bench press 100kg, but both your body and soul will be much happier.

3

Myth # .

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

I can get my dream body if I just train hard enough

Both weight gain and loss is impacted by many factors, including dietary intake, your environment and genetics. All individuals will not lose the same amount of weight on the same exercise programme.

Some individuals will actually respond very little to a regular exercise regimen in terms of losing fat weight (these individuals are called non-responders). You have all seen runners finishing the Comrades marathon not looking the part. Now you will be mistaken if you think they have not trained hard and long hours to finish that race, because nobody can just step up to the starting line and run more than 90km.

This is good evidence to show that exercise per se doesn’t make you thin, especially if you’re not endowed with the right genes. Losing body fat is a complicated matter (if not, we wouldn’t have rising obesity rates), and it goes far beyond a regular training programme. The good news, however, is that research has shown that being overweight and fit is much better than being thin and sedentary, as fitness is directly related to a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Furthermore, regular physical activity is one of the most important factors for successful longterm weight management.

illegal substances such as anabolic steroids, growth hormone and many other designer drugs. There is just no other way. The truth is that strength training approximately two to four times a week, doing a variety of exercises for the major muscle groups, will help women to achieve a lean and toned appearance, and strengthen bones and joints. In fact, since women are more prone to osteoporosis, it could be said that women might actually benefit more from weight training than men.

Research has shown that most people misjudge both the number of calories burned during exercise and the number of calories in food eaten.

4

Myth # .

Weight training makes women big and bulky

Weight training can make you bulk up – if you have the XY chromosome and it is your distinct intention to build huge muscles.

Even then, it is no easy feat to gain muscle. It takes time and effort, a carefully compiled scientific training programme and finely tuned nutritional strategies. For women, however, these sound strategies will not be enough. The reason being that women have nowhere near the required testosterone levels to put on any significant amounts of muscle mass. If you do see women with bulky muscles, you know for sure that their dietary habits include

6

Myth # .

Pass the puff pastry, I went to gym today You are in for a big surprise. You will probably gain weight, as the exercise will increase your metabolism and give you a healthy appetite.

Research has shown that most people misjudge both the number of calories burned during exercise and the number of calories in food eaten. So never use exercise as an excuse to overindulge. If your goal is weight loss, you must learn to eat more without increasing your calorie intake.

This means healthier choices of foods, smaller portion sizes and eating regularly during the day.

7

Myth # .

If you’re not drenched in sweat, you’re not working hard enough

5

Myth # .

I’m way too old for this

Age is just a very bad excuse. Studies have shown that it is never too late to start working out – you can reap benefits at any age. Exercise can help reduce the risk of

bone and muscle diseases and help enhance daily functionality even later in life. This means you will be more independent as you get older, not to mention being admired by your grandchildren for completing the odd fun walk/run every now and then.

The harder you work out, the more calories you'll burn within a given period and thus the more fat you stand to lose, but how much you sweat does not necessarily reflect how hard you're working.

Some people tend to sweat bucket loads while others don't sweat much at all, regardless of their fitness level or degree of exertion. Your sweat rate is related to your body weight, your genetic makeup and external factors such as environmental

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conditions and clothing.

Exercising in extremely hot weather or in a plastic "weight loss" suit will indeed make you sweat heavily and lose weight immediately.

That lost weight, however, is almost entirely water and the kilos will return when you replenish your fluids by drinking after the workout.

8

Myth # .

Sit-ups burn the boep Not... a‌ chance.

There's no such thing as spot reducing or burning fat off a particular body part, it is physiologically impossible. When you lose body fat, it comes off the body in a predetermined genetic pattern similar to how you gain the fat except in a reverse order.

When your body is in fat burning mode, fat comes from all over the place – your arms, calves, thighs, abdominals, face, forearms, big toe, etc. If spot reducing really worked, people who chew gum would have skinny faces. Spot toning, on the other hand, does work, and resistance exercises will strengthen the targeted muscles. Look at the dominant arms of professional tennis players, and you’ll see the difference in their muscle tone and size.

The best method for reducing overall body fat is the age-old tried and true combination of cardiovascular training, resistance training and

fitness

limiting your calorie intake. Results come from doing these three things with persistence and consistence.

9

Myth # .

Morning workouts are better for your metabolism

Proponents of this piece of wisdom say that if you exercise in the morning, you jump-start your metabolism and therefore burn more calories during the day.

There's absolutely no evidence that this is true.

The best time to exercise is the time you want to do it, and are most likely to do it, whether it's morning, afternoon or evening.

The only exception is for those with high blood pressure. Research has shown that your blood pressure remains low for up to nine hours after an acute exercise bout. This phenomenon is called post-exercise hypotension. So for those with hypertension, exercise in the morning is advantageous, as it will keep your blood pressure low during the day when you need it most.

drink should be beneficial for those who exercise. It contains sodium, which helps the body to retain water and keep you hydrated, and it contains sugar which your body burns for energy. However, contrary to what you

may think, very few people exercise hard enough to sweat away significant amounts of sodium. There is even some research that suggests consuming popular sports drinks during or after exercise does very little to add

to sodium levels in the body. Furthermore, one has to train for more than two hours continuously before your carbohydrates stores in muscles will start to run low. Thus, for the average Joe, plain water is all you need.

The best time to exercise is the time you want to do it, and are most likely to do it, whether it's morning, afternoon or evening.

10

Myth # .

Electrolyte sports drinks will enhance your workout This is another one of those myths that are costing the average person a lot of money.

Theoretically, a sports

Prof Terblanche is the chairperson of the Department of Sport Science at the University of Stellenbosch and holds a PhD. Her areas of specialisation include sport and exercise physiology and biostatistics. Her interests range from developing strategies to enhance sport performance to post-exercise recovery and the issue of supplements and doping.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

Health

Kettlebells

Health

Kettlebells How to exercise with

ettlebell training is the trusted Russian method for increasing strength, fat loss, muscular endurance and flexibility. The Soviet Army used the cast-iron weights for physical training and conditioning. Kettlebells were first developed in the 18th century, but it was during the Cold War that kettlebells made their move to the West. In the

K

1

Beginner

past decade they have become standard equipment in modern gyms.

While they can be used for traditional weight training, the effectiveness of kettlebells is in ballistic exercise (fast, explosive exercise such as snatches, swings, cleans, and jerks). Kettlebell sizes for men range between 12kg to 32kg, and for women from 8kg to 16kg. Picking the

right weight depends on your fitness level, as well as the type of kettlebell exercise you are doing. Kettlebell training can be divided into two groups: ballistic and grinds. For ballistic exercises you need a heavier kettlebell, while grinds require slower, more controlled movements, so a lighter one is recommended. Here are three exercises to get you started:

1. Two-Handed Kettlebell Swing

• Make sure to start the movement with your hips.

• Once the kettlebell arms are extended forward and you are standing straight, lower the kettlebell between your legs. That is one rep.

• Do about 15 reps. Be sure not to pause in between reps, keep the swinging motion going until you have completed your set.

• Stand up straight with your feet slightly wider than your hips and your knees slightly bent.

• Hold the kettlebell with both hands, your palms facing down and your arms straight and in front of your body.

• While keeping a slight bend in the knees, lower your body by moving your hips back. Do not move too low, as you would when doing a squat.

• Once the kettlebell is under you, swing it forward in a fluid, explosive motion until you are standing straight up again.

2. Kettlebell High Pull

3

Advanced

2

Intermediate

• Begin with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out about 45 degrees.

• Place the kettlebell on the ground between both legs. Begin with a squat, lowering your hips down until you can grip the handle of the kettlebell with one hand.

• Using your legs and hips, rise to standing, pulling the kettlebell up and making sure to drive the elbow up.

• Lower the kettlebell down, returning to the start position, and switch arms. That completes one rep.

• Do about 10-12 reps per arm.

3. Kettlebell Windmill • Hold the kettlebell in your right hand and angle your feet about 45 degrees away from your right arm.

• Raise the kettlebell overhead, locking your elbow. It’s a good idea to keep your eyes fixed on the kettlebell, as it will help keep your balance and shoulders aligned.

• Shift your weight onto the right leg and begin bending forward at the waist. The extended arm should remain overhead as your body bends forward until your left arm is pointing to the ground.

• Lift back up and repeat. Do about 10 reps per arm.

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Health

Nutrition

brain food Summer is here, and whether you’re casting your own lines, heading to the harbour to get the catch of the day fresh off the boat, or have your favourite fish monger at your neighbourhood market, now is a great time to introduce seafood into your regular weekly menu.

Fish is a low-fat high quality protein, filled with Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). Fish is also rich in calcium and phosphorus and a excellent source of minerals.

Here’s how eating fish can help improve your overall health and prevent a number of diseases.

106 SHM November 2013 2013

1 Heart Seafood is low in saturated fat and high in Omega-3, which can both protect the heart from disease and lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

2 Blood vessels Eating fish can improve your circulation and reduce the risk of thrombosis.

3 Joints Recent research has found a link between Omega-3

fats and osteoarthritis and eating fish as a regular part of a balanced diet has been shown to ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

retina to degenerate and the eyesight to become blurred. Fish and shellfish also contain retinol, a form of vitamin A which boosts night vision.

4 Eyes

5 Cancer

A recent study has suggested that Omega-3 fatty acids can help to protect the eyesight of those suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition which causes the

As well as being a source of many vitamins, seafood provides the body with many essential nutrients, including iodine, selenium, zinc and potassium.

Iodine is important for the thyroid gland, and

selenium makes enzymes that can help to protect us from cancer.

6 Lungs A number of studies have indicated that fish and shellfish may help to protect our lungs. Not only can seafood relieve the symptoms of asthma in children, but it has shown signs of preventing it.

7 Mind Seafood may also play a

Harissa Salmon Pasta Salad

Serves 6 FOR THE FISH • 3 tbsp Harissa paste • 600g salmon, cut into large pieces • 1 tbsp vegetable oil • 350g cherry tomatoes, halved • 3 cups penne pasta, cooked • 1 small red onion, sliced • 40g rocket • 10g mint • Sea salt and black pepper • Toasted flaked almonds to serve

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

FOR THE DRESSING • 1 tbsp cumin seeds • 3 tbsp olive oil • Juice of 1 lemon • ½ tsp sugar • 10g parsley, chopped 1. Spread the Harissa paste over the salmon, heat a pan and add the oil.Pan-fry pieces of salmon until desired doneness. Remove fish from the pan, set aside and allow to cool. Toss the halved tomatoes into the pan and allow to cook until skins just wrinkle, about 1–2 minutes, remove and set aside.

2. For the dressing: place the cumin seeds in a small frying pan, dry fry for 1 minute or until fragrant, remove and grind, using a pestle and mortar. Add the ground cumin seeds to a bowl and whisk in olive oil, stir through lemon juice, sugar and parsley.

3. To serve: place the pasta and all the remaining ingredients on a platter, toss to combine, pour over dressing, season and top with the fish.

Sprinkle with flaked almonds.

large part in preventing depression; research has highlighted links between low Omega-3 levels and a higher risk of depression.

8 Skin Not only does Omega-3 help to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV damage, but eating lots of fish can also help with the symptoms of skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

9 Bowel disease Evidence suggests that a diet rich in fish oils can help to protect us against serious inflammatory bowel diseases (BD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

10 Brain The human brain is almost 60 percent fat, with much of this being Omega-3 fat.

Probably for this reason, research has indicated that people who eat

plenty of seafood are less likely to suffer dementia and memory problems in later life. DHA, an Omega-3 fat found in seafood, has also been linked to improvements in children’s concentration, reading skills, behaviour, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Sources: Seafish (UK), Mayo Clinic, American Heart Association.

Spicy Fish Wraps

Serves 4

FOR THE FISH • 600g hake fillets, cut into chunks • Sea salt and black pepper • Oil for deep-frying FOR THE BATTER • 140g flour • 2½ tsp baking powder • Large pinch of salt • 1 egg, beaten • ¾ cup soda water, ice cold

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Health

Nutrition

FOR THE DRESSING • 1 cup buttermilk • ½ cup mayonnaise • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 1 tsp cider vinegar • 1 tsp sugar • 10g chopped fresh coriander • 2 tsp lemon juice FOR THE TOPPING • 2 baby Savoy cabbages, shredded • 6 radishes, sliced • 1 avocado pear, peeled and cubed • 1 red chilli, chopped • 4 wraps, toasted • Limes to serve • 10g fresh coriander to garnish

Balsamic-Seared Tuna With Orange & Grapefruit Salad

Serves 4 FOR THE FISH • 800g tuna loin • 2 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar • 1 red chilli, chopped • Sea salt and black pepper • Olive oil for drizzling FOR THE CAPER MAYONNAISE • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 2 egg yolks

108 SHM November 2013

• • • •

1 tsp white wine vinegar 1 cup vegetable oil Juice of ½ a lemon 1 tbsp capers, drained, roughly chopped

FOR THE SALAD • 2 oranges, peeled and sliced • 2 ruby grapefruits, peeled and sliced • 100g black olives • Olive oil for drizzling • 50g micro herbs 1. Place tuna loin in a shallow bowl, whisk together oil, balsamic vinegar and chilli, pour over tuna, season.

2. Heat a pan, sear tuna on each side until browned and cooked to your liking. Set aside and keep warm. Reserve pan juices.

3. For the mayonnaise: Place garlic, egg yolks and wine vinegar in a blender, blitz for 30 seconds, then slowly add oil in a steady stream until the mixture is thickened and creamy. Stir through lemon juice and capers, and season. Thin with a little warm water if required.

4. For the salad: Toss together all the ingredients, drizzle with olive oil and season.

5. To serve: place tuna on a platter, pour over pan juices and slice. Garnish with micro herbs and serve with the caper mayonnaise.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

1. Place the hake on a surface and pat dry. Season well with salt and pepper.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, stir well to combine.

Make a well in the centre, add the egg and the soda water, whisk to combine. Allow the batter to stand for 5 minutes.

3. Heat vegetable oil in a medium-sized deep pot, dip the fish into the batter, then place straight into the hot oil.

Fry for 3–4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towel.

4. For the dressing: whisk together all the ingredients, season to taste.

5. To serve: place 2–3 pieces of fish in a wrap, top with cabbage, radish, avocado and chilli, drizzle with dressing and garnish with fresh coriander.

BOOKS

health & wellness

Good Reads to give Core Strength Training 1away R240

Improve your physique, posture and power with Core Strength Training, a practical, no-nonsense guide suitable for everyone from complete beginners to fitness fanatics.

The 150 step-by-step exercises use clear diagrams and show you exactly what to do and which muscle groups you are using. Plus, there are tips to help you perfect your technique and perform each movement correctly and safely. Whether you’re looking to improve core strength for your golf swing, increase your power in combat sports or improve your posture post-pregnancy, you’ll find the programme for you. Variations are also included so exercises can be adapted to suit your ability and experience.

Giveaway This is a great gift for any member of the family. Penguin and SHM have one copy to giveaway. Email us your name, cell and address to core@shmmag.co.za and we’ll draw one lucky winner. Entries close 30 November 2013. to give Joshi’s Alkaline Diet 3away R170

First published as Joshi’s Holistic Detox in 2005 (and the inspiration for our Detox feature in SHM October’s nutrition section) the Alkaline Diet is already a best-seller. The book gives you Joshi’s 21-day detox plan to alter your pH balance, change your eating habits, restore your energy levels and leave you looking and feeling fantastic. “If no one comments within two weeks on how great you’re looking,” says Joshi, “you must be cheating.” Joshi was born in Africa to Indian parents and is qualified in orthodox medicine, osteopathy and Ayurvedic treatments. He treated Princess Diana for four years and developed the detox diet for her in the wake of her split from Prince Charles. Certain A-listers, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Cate Blanchett, Ralph Fiennes to Sadie Frost, say it’s the way to go and claim that Joshi’s unique, craving-free alkaline diet has been the secret to shaking off the strain of a high-pressure life.

Giveaway You can try it for yourself. We have three to give away. Simply email joshi@shmmag.co.za with your name, cell and address. Entries close 30 November 2013.

sc

ribe to

sh

www.vitalityshop.co.za www.ebucks.com

m

Is it possible to eat what you like, most of the time, and get thinner and healthier as you do it? The authors of The Fast Diet, Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer, say “Yes.” All you have to do is restrict your calorie intake for two nonconsecutive days each week (500 calories for women, 600 for men).

The authors know that most diets don’t work. And, if certain diets do have results, they often play havoc with your health. The Fast Diet is based on certain research that shows that intermittent fasting takes your body out of “go-go” mode and puts it into survival mode. This causes the body to slow production of new cells and instead repair old ones. In the process, you apparently not only lose weight, you reduce your risk of a range of diseases, from diabetes to cardiovascular disease to cancer. With this book, you can find a dietary programme that can be incorporated into your normal working life.

sub

The Fast Diet R133

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 109

Health

INJURy prevention

By Dr Chris Frey

Top Tips for Riding a

Cycle Challenge Dr Chris Frey

1. Sunscreen Definitely use sunscreen.

Johannesburg is situated at 1,850m above sea level and close to the sun. On a clear day the UV radiation is high.

But be careful not to place too much sunscreen on your forehead. You will soon sweat and the sunscreen will run into your eyes, which will start to burn and you may temporary lose vision. The same happens when you ride through one of the artificial showers to cool down. Be careful here as it might not be you that loses sight from burning eyes, but the rider in front of you making an emergency stop.

110 SHM November 2013

2. Cramps Muscle cramps are painful, involuntary, spastic contractions of your muscles. Exercise-related muscle cramps occur commonly during or after exercise and lead to muscle weakness. The symptoms are extremely painful and the cramped, contracted muscle is palpable. Passive stretching of the affected muscle usually brings instant relief.

However, the soreness after the cramp can persist for hours or days. To avoid or reduce the incidence of cramps it is important to rehydrate your body with electrolyte fluids and make up for the salty sweat you lose.

Should you take any cardiac,

blood pressure or lipid-lowering medication, be aware that these medications are known to cause cramps. Best is to consult your doctor prior to the race.

3. Hydrate Cramping is related to hydration.

Drink enough. Not just water.

A better choice is to use a combination of water, electrolytes and energy supplements. Most riders have their personal preferences and mixtures and will gladly give advice. It can be a good idea to have two containers with different fluids on board.

During the 94.7km race, you will easily lose 1.5 to 2 litres of fluid per hour.

CRAMPS Cramps are caused by electrolyte and fluid disturbances in the force-generating muscles.

Electrolytes are ionised, positive or negative charged particles in cells or blood.

The electrolytes that cause cramps are mainly calcium and magnesium ions. Fluid disturbance is the balance between intracellular and extracellular fluids. When you sweat, you lose water and also salt. This “salty water” comes from the fluid stored outside your body cells – the extracellular fluid.

The imbalance between the fluid stored outside the cells and the fluid stored inside the cells is what causes cramps.

rACE Photos by MOMENTUM 94.7 CYCLE CHALLENGE

You lost a bet, had too many beers or a moment of weakness and got dragged into committing to ride the popular Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge on 17 November. No worries – you used to ride a bicycle and you still have the old steel horse, dusty and rusting away in the garage.

Besides getting her ship-shape and ready to ride, what could possibly go wrong? Well, if you haven’t done a cycle race in a while, here are some health and injury prevention pointers for the long road.

Dr Chris Frey is an Orthopaedic Surgeon FCS (SA Ortho). He is Head of Arthroplasty and Reconstructive Surgery at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and Lector at the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr Frey is the Trustee of the AO Trauma Foundation South Africa and President of the South African German Orthopaedic Foundation. He is a member of the South African Orthopaedic Association, the South African Trauma Association, the South African Arthroplasty Society and an Affiliate Member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

4. Saddle Discomfort Your bum will hurt. There is not much you can do besides wearing padded bicycle pants and special ergonomic padded underpants (and, of course, enough time in the saddle prior to the race). It can be difficult to get hold of the padded underpants in South Africa and you might need to get them online, so plan ahead.

Saddle height is also important. Ask a professional rider or your bicycle shop for assistance for the correct adjustment.

If the saddle height is wrong you will experience knee pain in the back or the front of your knee. This is an indication of incorrect sitting posture. If you experience knee pain in the front of the knee during the race, it is best to slide further back on your saddle. Do the reverse adjustment for pain in the back of your knee.

5. Use Your Gears A lot. It is important to find a balance between using your muscles and running out of breath. In other words, pace yourself for both strength and cardio exertion. Professional riders aim for 90 pedal rounds per minute. This is rather difficult to maintain for an amateur, so it might be advisable to settle for less rpms.

8. Carrying a CellPhone Perhaps you want your cellphone for emergencies, to keep in touch with friends and family, or to tweet your every milestone. However, avoid getting sweat into the phone. The salts in your sweat can permanently blur your screen from the inside.

Prevent this by placing the phone into a zippered plastic bag. Don’t phone while riding. Trying to get the phone out of the bag makes you prone to accidents. Rather, stop first.

For storage, it’s best to get a tricot with a pocket on your back. (In the same pocket you might want to put some tissues. This will help should your chain derail or should the loo be out of paper.)

9. Ride Defensively It’s best not to have an accident in the first place. However, my noncycling colleagues are on call on the day of the race but please keep in mind that due to the road closures it is also difficult for doctors to get to the hospital.

All that is left to say is good luck!

The road is yours – enjoy the ride.

6. Cleats Using clip-on-shoes for the pedals makes your ride more energy efficient. Once the shoe is hooked to the pedal you can push down and pull up. This makes your stride rounder and more even. It can also aid in avoiding cramps. However, it takes a little time and experience to get used to cleats.

It is best not to try this for the first time on the day of the race.

The Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge will be held on 17 November 2013 in Gauteng.

Entries are closed, but you can follow the race on twitter.com/momentum947.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

7. Wear Gloves The continuous pressure from holding on to the handlebars can compress the median nerve – the major nerve in the hand. This nerve is responsible for the motion and sensation in dominant part of the hand, including your thumb, index, middle and part of your ring finger.

Positional pressure can cause a loss of sensation with a pins-and-needles feeling in these fingers. Gloves can protect the nerve and will ease the pressure on the nerve. Gloves will also protect your hands in the event of a fall.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 111

Health

character

SpOrtsmanship sat up and waited while the remaining riders turned to get on to the correct part of the road. Because of this she did not have the speed the others did in the downhill and could not hold MomentumToyota rider Lynnete Burger in the sprint. The women’s race was won by Burger with Kachelhoffer second and Complete Cyclist’s Dee Joubert in third.

Hat tip to @CyclingDirectSA for alerting us to the story, and to Kachelhoffer for demonstrating good sportsmanship.

Kachelhoffer riding in France earlier this year for the Senger Ladies Team in the Trophee d’Or race.

photos BY Team BestMed a[s]g

At the inaugural Go West Cycle Classic on the West Rand in late September, a small group of elite women were riding to the finish. One kilometre before the end of the 105km route, there was a left-hand turn onto a dual carriageway.

Unfortunately, the marshals directed the group down the wrong side of the road leading to the final straight, which was to be a very fast downhill 500m. Team Bestmed a[s]g’s An-Li Kachelhoffer was one of the riders. Kachelhoffer bunny-hopped the central reservation, but sportingly

photos BY Senger Ladies

Kachelhoffer Shows Class

Send us your

stories 112 SHM November 2013

... of good sportsmanship in your arena, in 200 words or less. Each month the author of the winning story will receive an Action Shot HD Camera Compact, valued at R1,999. Send your stories to editor@SHMmag.co.za.

The Madness of King Paolo

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

P

aolo di Canio was dropped as Sunderland Football Club’s coach at the end of September. Insiders tell the story of a 175-day “reign of terror” that saw the coach insist on a bizarre set of rules that banned cellphones, tomato sauce and mayonnaise from players’ diets, ice from their Coke and any singing.

According to The Independent, Di Canio was responsible for the “systematic destruction of the players’ self-esteem and self-worth;” and a coaching philosophy that included berating and insulting his players, assistant coaches and staff members more or less continuously, in public and in private, until “they couldn’t take any more.”

Di Canio is, of course, no stranger to controversy and, as a player, raised the ire of many when in 2005, while playing for Lazio and beating arch-rivals Roma by three goals to one, he ran around the field with a fascist salute. Yes, read that again. Fascist, as in raising your right arm like one of Hitler’s Stormtroopers.

For any team-mate who has spent time with him in the dressing room, it would have come as no surprise, given that Di Canio sports a massive tattoo on his back that oozes fascist clichés: an imperial eagle

with spread wings, pointed beak and sharp claws holding a bundle of rods called “the fasces,” a symbol of power.

Most remarkably, and utterly void of any aesthetic sensibility, though, if one may ever ascribe aesthetics to either tattoos or to fascist regalia, is a head shot of Il Duce (the Italian fascist dictator and Hitler war ally, Mussolini) in a silly-looking helmet. Di Canio is a great fan of Mussolini, as he also stated clearly in his autobiography.

No doubt, then, about Paolo di Canio’s politics.

But he seems to draw some fine distinctions: when he attended the 2010 funeral of the notorious Italian fascist bomber Paolo Signorelli, who killed 85 people in 1980, Di Canio still insisted he was “a fascist, not a racist.”

However, fascism as a coaching philosophy clearly has its limits as Di Canio recently found out when Sunderland gave him the boot.

As a player, Paolo di Canio was no less controversial, yet impossible to stereotype.

Some players are eccentric in a predictable way, but he never conformed to any specific stereotype that made it any easier to understand him.

There have been other political extremists. There are many rule-breakers and big-talkers, yet Di Canio has never sat comfortably in just one of these categories and has always been an enigma. The closest anyone has come to understanding his behaviour is by going back to his roots in a poor part of Rome, in a neighbourhood called the Quarticciolo, filled with leftist socialists and their own football club (Roma!).

Paolo was a fat boy, clumsy, wore orthopaedic shoes and he

never quite fit into this world.

He developed his own code in defiance of his neighbourhood and it centred around Lazio, the fascists’ football club in another part of town. His home-grown survival code explains, some argue, why he would later fight his own teammates, push down referees who disrespected him, and any of the other cases where it seemed as if it was Di Canio against the rest of the world.

In part, because that is how he probably felt most of his life.

And which is why he might have raised that arm in a salute to Lazio in 2005 – when he finally felt he was at home in a place where he belonged.

What makes Paolo di Canio interesting, despite all of his much publicised faults, was this one incident that gives us cause to rethink the ease with which we call any person “good” or “bad.”

But, there are enough fascists and racists in football and in many other sports that one need not have wasted space here on Paolo di Canio. What makes him interesting, despite all of his much publicised faults, was this one incident that gives us cause to rethink the ease with which we call any person “good” or “bad.”

It was a 2000 Premier League game between West Ham and Everton, by all accounts a remarkably forgettable affair.

The match was tied . when Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard injured himself rushing far out of the net at a West Ham striker.

Writhing in pain on the ground with an injured knee a good 30 yards out to the left, Gerrard could not defend his goal area, just as a cross came to West Ham’s Di Canio, leaving him with a good shot at goal. Instead, this complex man caught the ball and stopped the game so that Gerrard could receive attention.

His behaviour was met with a standing ovation and a FIFA Fair Play Award in 2001.

Is Paolo di Canio proof that even the toughest baddies out there all still have some good in them?

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 113

Health

ears, nose & throat

By Antoinette muller

Talk, Don’t Talk

Robin Jackman’s Bout With Cancer Imagine being told to be quiet for four days. Now imagine having spent a large chunk of your life speaking for a living, and then being told to be quiet. When Robin Jackman was diagnosed with cancer last year and underwent successful treatment to beat the disease, that’s exactly what he had to do.

Jackman’s diagnosis in itself was a pretty unique case. Laura Russell, a speech therapist, had noticed that something wasn’t quite right with Jackman’s voice while she was listening to him commentating on a cricket match. He sounded hoarse and tired, something which is normal after a long day or after somebody has had a cold. When the condition didn’t improve after a few days, she took action.

Through her father, Malcolm Russell, who trains people to work in media, she managed to get in touch and suggested a visit to a specialist. Jackman had noticed that his voice had been a bit off and went to see the ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist suggested by Russell.

The news wasn’t good. The doctor found nodes on Jackman’s right vocal cord which had to be sent away for a biopsy. Jackman was worried. The first surgery took place on 20 September 2012 and he was not allowed to talk for four days. The biopsy results came back as malignant, but his doctor was sure that everything had been removed. Three weeks later, after a check-up, there was more evidence of cancer and more surgery followed. Each time after surgery, Jackman had to stay quiet for four days, something

with which Russell helped him, but it certainly wasn’t easy.

“He has a lot of friends and he is an incredibly social guy. The most important part of his post-radiation therapy was voice rest – and I can tell you that getting Robin Jackman to talk less has probably been the most challenging task of my career so far,” Russell laughs.

Despite two surgeries, it was clear that Jackman would also need radiotherapy to get rid of all signs of cancer. A very tough seven weeks followed, and although treatment sessions were always quite short, it seemed like something out of a science fiction movie.

Radiation involved being clamped down into a fitment mask to ensure that no movement was possible. The treatment would take just a few seconds at a time; 28 seconds of radiation into the left side of the throat, 30 seconds into the front and 28 seconds into the right side.

At first, treatment was easy, but became progressively more uncomfortable as it progressed. “The first week was a breeze and I wondered just what all the fuss was about,” Jackman told SHM. “But then my voice deteriorated until I could barely whisper and the skin on my neck became burned and blistered, causing scabs to form.”

He had to resort to a liquid diet of yoghurt, ice cream and soup. By Christmas, the scarring from the radiation was pretty bad. Lunch that day was lobster bisque for main course and ice cream for dessert. “I had to take my shirt off and put it on the wrong way round to cover my neck because my grandson told me that the scabs on my neck made him want to gag,” Jackman recalls.

Cancer treatment is harsh and unforgiving, but Jackman got through it with the support of his family, and his wife was

WHAT KIND OF CANCER?

Robin Jackman suffered from squamous cell carcinoma of the right vocal cord. It is one of the major forms of cancer which usually occurs on the skin, but is also found in other tissues in the body, such as mucous membranes. It arises from the

114 SHM November 2013

uncontrolled multiplication of epithelium cells. Tobacco use is known to be the major predisposing factor for this kind of cancer. Alcohol use, nutritional deficiencies, genetic predisposition and other viral factors also play a role. The tumour grows slowly, and difficulty swallowing and a hoarse

voice are two of the most common symptoms. A lump in the neck, ear ache and coughing are also symptoms.

It’s a fairly rare disease with fewer than 200,000 deaths worldwide each year. The prognosis is good, with 7595 percent cure rates when the tumour is caught in its early stages.

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

“Getting Robin Jackman to talk less has probably been the most challenging task of my career so far.”

– Laura Russell, speech therapist.

BIO: ROBIN JACKMAN (“JACKERS”)

Jackman played four Tests and 15 ODIs for England, and was involved with Surrey for 16 seasons starting from 1966. Over the course of his lengthy domestic career, Jackman took more than 1,400 first-class wickets and scored 5,681 runs. He was born in India, grew up in England, but maintained close ties with South Africa, coaching and representing Rhodesia and Western Province over 11 seasons. After retirement, Jackman took up media work, and has been a regular television commentator for international matches.

LAURA RUSSELL, SPEECH THERAPIST

Laura Russell has been working as a Speech Therapist for eight years. She spent five of those years in public hospitals, first at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and then at Groote Schuur Hospital. For the last three years, she has worked at the University of Cape Town as a Clinical Educator, supervising Speech Therapy students in their clinical training and teaching a course in Voice.

During her time, she has worked extensively with throat cancer patients. The treatments for throat cancer range from radiation to removal of the entire voice box. All of these options can impact communication and swallowing, and this is where the input of a Speech Therapist becomes invaluable.

with him for every session of treatment.

At the end of his seven weeks of treatment, his wife, along with his daughters and grandchildren surprised him in the waiting room with congratulatory flags and a lot of cheering to celebrate him making it to the end.

At the time, Jackman’s goal was to be back on air for at least some of the South African 2012/13 summer season. After treatment, recovery involved taking medication to help reduce the swelling around his vocal cords. Naturally, he also quit smoking and stopped drinking alcohol completely to get his voice right. He says the coughing was so painful that it sometimes brought him to his knees. He is still off the cigarettes, but can now enjoy a drink once again. Jackman is no advocate of the “anti-smoking parade” though, and says that he has no problem with other smokers, just sympathy.

He missed his target of being back on air by two weeks, but returned for the one-day games against Pakistan and even managed a short stint in India for some of the Indian Premier League. “Getting back to commentary was a little daunting to begin with because I was terrified that my first words would sound as if I had just sucked in a helium balloon,” Jackman says. “It all went off fine, but I did have to leave my post a few times to go and have a good cough. I was fortunate that my fellow commentators were all aware of the situation and held the fort for me,” he adds.

To help him get through the day, he would drink honey water. Whenever he went onto the mic, he’d have a mug of boiling water with a little bit of honey to help the itchiness in his throat. It’s an itchiness from which he still suffers.

Upon returning from India, his voice deteriorated again and it took another two months to get it right. “It certainly went through my mind that I might have to quit commentary. But everyone, especially my oncologist, Dr Greg Hart, was so reassuring that all would be okay. Their comments were always very comforting, but deep down there was always that ‘what if,’ question,” says Jackman. Although he has now recovered from the cancer, he still requires regular check-ups and speech therapy.

Jackman is still in touch with Russell. The two talk after every ENT appointment while Russell sees Jackman regularly for voice therapy. She also now has the luxury of having a cricket expert on hand whenever she has any questions – much to the envy of her friends.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 115

History

Nedbank golf challenge

By Ian MacLeod

Few South Africans can say they haven’t watched the “Million Dollar” at some point in their lifetimes. But the sports-boycott-breaking golf tournament has had both a chequered and celebrated history. Now in its 32nd year, SHM goes back to the very beginning…

I

t’s often a chance meeting of rogue thinkers that sparks the extraordinary.

Sonny meeting Cher for coffee in LA; Watson lending Crick his microscope in Cambridge. Or, according to businessman and executive chairman of the Sunshine Tour Selwyn Nathan, when Lee Trevino and Sol Kerzner 116 SHM November 2013

shared a flight from the site of what is now Sun City to Johannesburg in the late 1970s.

Kerzner, the accountant turned hotelier, had been showing off his new development in what was then an “independent homeland” (ostensibly its own state with a president and real laws), landlocked

by Apartheid South Africa,

180km north-west of Joburg.

Trevino, already a multiple Major winner, must have been encouraged by the lavish tribute to hedonism and sunshine.

“Trevino said to Sol, ‘You should do something really different up there – something crazy, like putting up a million dollars for a golf tournament’,” explains Nathan. And that was all

the recidivistic entrepreneur needed to hear. “Let’s do it!” came the response. “That’s what sparked the Million Dollar Challenge,” continues Nathan. “Any other story you hear isn’t true.”

Sol’s Goal

With his signature blend of ferocity and razzmatazz, the jockey-sized Kerzner set about designing a marketing stunt

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

nobody thought would work, to promote a resort everyone said was crazy.

How insane was the idea? Let’s set the global scene in 1981, the year the event was planned to kick off.

Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on Robben Island at the behest of President Viljoen’s regime. Sun City only existed because the same conservative bunch had outlawed gambling (and strip shows) in “South Africa proper.” IBM would launch its first PC and Muhammad Ali finally retired from boxing after 56 wins and five losses.

Even “Mr Can Do” himself, Gary Player, had serious doubts whether all this could work. In 1978 Kerzner flew the golfing great to the site he foresaw as the epicentre of his sports jamboree and asked him to build “the finest golf course on the African continent.” Player recalls staring around the arid and cow-dungscattered expanse inside an extinct volcano in disbelief. “Do you even have water here?” he queried. The answer was no – not yet, at least.

Kerzner resolved the hydration obstacle by building a lake. And extended this “gun to a knife fight” attitude to everything else

American Johnny Miller won the very first Million Dollar Challenge in 1981.

that stood in his way. How do you draw affluent masses from around the world to a sweltering African nation of dubious legal standing?

Hire Frank Sinatra to perform on the opening night. What about the players, wary of breeching sports sanctions on delinquent South Africa? Trevino’s suggested $1 million should convince them that Bophuthatswana is a safe distance from controversy.

With his signature blend of ferocity and razzmatazz, the jockey-sized Kerzner set about designing a marketing stunt nobody thought would work, to promote a resort everyone said was crazy.

The Challenge Commences

Soon enough, five golfing superstars were confirmed for the African extravaganza: Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player and the “Merry Mex” himself, Lee Trevino.

The then owners of a collective 35 Major trophies would contest for the largest purse in golf, in cluding $500,000 for the winner. How much was that really in 1981? No player would make even $400,000 in total prize money from official PGA events that season.

The inaugural Million Dollar Challenge could scarcely have pleased Kerzner more, let alone the thousands of sports fans who buzzed around the pristine Gary Player Country Club in the summer heat to watch the masters at the height of their powers.

Remember even overseas tours for South African athletes were near impossible at the time – the Springbok rugby team had only recently returned from the disrupted www.shmmag.co.za SHM 117

Nedbank golf challenge

“Flour Bomb” tour of New Zealand. Global sporting icons were like mythical creatures to an isolated local sports fandom.

After three days, Miller and Ballesteros had separated themselves from the field.

Both shot final rounds of 71 to close regulation play tied on 277. It seemed likely the first stage of the sudden-death playoff would secure the win for the Spaniard when Seve’s 6-iron approach left him a near gimmie, while Miller faced a far longer riddle of a putt. Some accounts say the American closed his eyes during the stroke. Regardless, he sunk his ball and the battle continued.

For another seven holes the pair duelled, matching each other shot for shot. Finally, on the ninth extra hole, Ballesteros three-putted for bogey. Miller, whom Fred Couples recently described as “probably the best ball-striker ever,” made par and won. Few dispute the story (told by his brother) that heart-on-sleeve Seve spent that evening in tears.

Challenging Times

The tone was set. Summer days, hotter competition and

British golfer Nick Faldo opened with a 66 en route to winning the 1994 Nedbank Golf Challenge

118 SHM November 2013

the best entertainment money could buy. But there was one problem the vivacious Kerzner couldn’t solve.

The cloud of Apartheid still loomed like those that bring thunderstorms to many a Highveld afternoon.

Perhaps the sharpest protest was the work of a rock ‘n roller named Steven van Zandt. A former band-mate of Bruce Springsteen’s, he magnetised the world’s musicians to collaborate on a song that rebuked the very existence of the utopian Sun City, with its extravagant sports and entertainment events, while all around it was oppression and poverty.

Run DMC, “The Boss,” Bob Dylan, Pat Benatar and, of course, Bono all joined in and recorded the catchy I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City. “Relocation to phoney homelands,” they sang, as the music video juxtaposed golf and poverty; jet skis and riots.

“Separation of families I can’t understand… I ain’t gonna play Sun City.”

The song was banned in South Africa, but reached 38 on America’s Billboard Hot 100 in December 1985.

The following year even the enthusiastic Trevino

Summer days, hotter competition and the best entertainment money could buy. But there was one problem the vivacious Kerzner couldn’t solve. The cloud of Apartheid still loomed like those that bring thunderstorms to many a Highveld afternoon.

Watch the music video for “I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” by Artists Against Apartheid here. http://bit.ly/8zQGgc

could no longer smile past the controversy. Under pressure from sponsors and fans, Supermex stayed away.

By 1988 organisers were on the back foot and bunkered down as much as possible, only announcing the field a week before the start. The jolly idea turned bonanza was now plumbing new depths alongside other rogue elements that chose to play Sun City, like rock group Black Sabbath.

Back Into the Light

Fortunately, politics chugged towards the democratic revolution of the early 1990s.

By the time Britain’s Nick Faldo won the tournament in its usual year-end slot in 1994, Nelson Mandela was President of a “new” South Africa. The farcical Bophuthatswana no longer served any purpose, and Sun City became part of the North West province.

Of course, $1 million was no longer the king’s ransom it had once been.

The tournament purse had long since hurdled that mark and changed its name to the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The banking giant had, in fact, been involved from the start, sponsoring a hole at the 1981 opener, and remains the title sponsor to this day.

“The Nedbank” was also rapidly shaking its image as a boisterous and lucrative (for some) splash at the end of the serious season. The famous hospitality tents and player parties continued but grew up a tad by most accounts.

Some of the golf in the 1990s certainly betrayed the festival reputation and at times it bordered on magical.

One display still pondered in clubhouses across the country to expressions of disbelief is Nick Price’s 1993 subjugation of the difficult Gary Player.

Fresh off his debut Major victory at the 1992 PGA

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

History

Behind Scenes the

The Nedbank Golf Challenge is almost as famous for its on-field action as it’s offfield revelry – here are some classic tales: Tournament veterans recite one evening above all others as a symbol of the Million Dollar’s carnival spirit. Accounts vary on the precise time, but all agree that Steve Elkington, John Daly and Ian Woosnam’s barechested, booze-inspired rendition of Wild Thing one night during the 1991 event stole the show. Their hungover showings the next day in the blazing heat were less impressive, with Daly one-handing some shots without breaking his gate.

If one story typifies Sol Kerzner’s renowned dedication to please his guests, it’s the way he handled Princess Caroline of Monaco’s request one year to play Gary Player’s course.

This came moments after the day’s final pairing had teed off. Despite Selwyn Nathan’s protestations, the boss got what he wanted.

“That first hole took them 45 minutes to complete,” recalls a chuckling Nathan. “The greenkeeper was getting very edgy behind us, but luckily the royal fourball decided one hole was enough.”

The one attempt organisers made to stand up to a guest was short lived. Hulk Hogan had been invited to bring some flair to the pro-am, but nobody had thought to check if the “Hulkinator” could swing clubs as expertly as he could slam bodies. Several pros spotted the colourful wrestler hacking away on the practice range and suggested to organiser Sam Feldman that he find a subtle excuse to keep him off the pristine championship course. Feldman plucked up the courage to approach the giant visitor, but the charm (and, probably, size) of the fellow won him over and Hulk was let loose on Player’s gem.

It didn’t get better than the climax to the 1998 tournament – Tiger Woods and Nick Price going headto-head in a playoff. Fist-pumps all round.

The logistics of the event alone are a multimillion rand challenge with their own stories.

The most famous is that of the spitting cobra and the one-eyed cameraman. The lensman had spotted the snake while out filming beauty shots, and saw the chance to capture the wildness of the setting. Just then the serpent reared up on him and spat in his one good eye. Luckily a quick-thinking camera assistant knew his bush medicine and flushed the eye out with urine in time to save it.

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 119

History

Nedbank golf challenge

Championship, his rounds of 67, 66, 66 and 65 were as much surgery on the kikuyu fairways and bent greens as they were a purple patch of sporting brilliance.

Price’s 24-under par course record earned him an eight-shot victory. Broadcaster Dale Hayes spent much of that tournament walking the course behind the leader for television. He calls this run as “the most beautiful golf I think I’ve ever seen over four days.” He admits “there was the odd time when Nick was slightly long or short, but then he produced miracle chip shots. He was never off line.”

That was to be the first of three Nedbank titles for Price.

Best of the Breakers

Home-town hero Ernie Els has won the NGC three times – in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Tigered Tiger with his own rendition of the fist-pump.

“Obviously to have beaten someone like Tiger, it makes it a little special,” said the ever gentlemanly Price. “He’s a phenomenon. I’ve got a great future behind me. He’s going to win plenty.”

Breaking Even

Despite the success, the Nedbank Golf Challenge continues to face genuine threats to its existence.

Chief among them is the weak local currency. “The volatility of the rand-dollar exchange rate is always a worry,” explains tournament director Chris Roper. “I remember when it got to about 16 to one, our then CEO at Sun International Peter Bacon came charging up to me in the corridor and said, ‘If this carries on, I ain’t going to do this anymore.’ So for us and Nedbank, there’s a point where the event just doesn’t make sense anymore.”

Despite the success, the Nedbank Golf Challenge continues to face genuine threats to its existence.

Chief among them is the weak local currency.

Ironically, the boon that was luring Tiger to the contest in 1998 may have helped birth another severe challenge. Since 2007 Woods has hosted the charitydriven World Challenge, universally referred to as “Tiger’s tournament,” in California at about the same time as the Nedbank Golf Challenge – late November/ early December. The format bares a striking resemblance to the one the 14-time Major champion played 15 years ago. The upshot is renewed difficulty attracting the best talent to the southern tip of Africa.

With over three decades of history behind it, the sights and sounds of “Africa’s Major” are an institution of South African sport. Now the 32-year-old enters what may be the playoff to end all playoffs against the hungry young bucks on tour.

The 2013 Nedbank Golf Challenge takes place at Sun City from 5 to 8 December. The new tournament format will feature an increased 30-man field competing for a total prize fund of $6.5 million; $1.25 million for first place going down to $100,000 for last.

Visit www.nedbankgolfchallenge.co.za for more details.

120 SHM November 2013

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

The Sunday playoff became almost obligatory for a truly great Million Dollar. In 1982 Ray Floyd needed four playoff holes to defeat Craig Stadler. Ernie Els has lost twice in playoffs – to Colin Montgomerie in 1996 and Sergio Garcia in 2001 – and earned one of his three victories in a shootout with Lee Westwood in 2000.

Perhaps the most thrilling tiebreaker of all was the 1998 knee-jangler between Price and Tiger Woods. The blue-eyed Zimbabwean, long an adopted son of the South African sporting public, was defending his title and conjured up eight final-round birdies – six of them on the trot – to lead in the clubhouse.

Woods, then the 22-year-old saviour of the game, was mobbed by crowds as though an actual Martian was chasing down the lead. He sunk an 18-foot birdie on 17 and holed out with a sandwedge from the fringe on 18 to tie Price and force the playoff, triggering the first-ever trademark Tiger fist-pump on African soil.

Price vanquished his young challenger with a birdie on the fifth extra hole at the par-four 17th. He may even have out-

www.shmmag.co.za SHM 121

Sportswoman Of The Month

Carissa 2013 ASP Women’s Moore World Champion Born

27 August 1992 Nationality

Hawaii, USA Stance

Natural Favourite Wave

Barra, Lighthouse Favourite Move

Forehand Reverse Career Earnings

R4 million

122 SHM November 2013

awaiian Carissa Moore won the 2013 ASP Women’s World Title on 5 October at the final event of the women’s tour with a victory at the EDP Cascais Girls Billabong Pro in Portugal.

The Honolulu native started surfing at four years old when her father pushed her out into the swell on one of his boards, and apparently the toddler

H

managed to stay on her feet.

She started competing aged six and went on to win 11 national titles. In 2006, she won the Rip Curl GromSearch U14 boys division. That’s right, she beat her male counterparts. And she did it again, at 14, winning the U16 Quiksilver King of the Groms. Then at 15 she was the youngest competitor and youngest winner of the 6-Star WQS Reef Hawaiian Pro.

ASP World Tour Victories

sc

ribe to

sh

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

www.vitalityshop.co.za www.ebucks.com

So it was no surprise that when she made her ASP Women’s World Tour debut in 2009, she was named Rookie of the Year. She finished third that year, despite having to miss an event in order to finish high school. But she did not have to wait long; in 2011 she won the women’s title for the first time.

This year’s title did not come easy. The 2013 tour went back and forth between Moore and 19-year-old Australian Tyler Wright and it was down to the wire in the final event: whoever finished higher won the title. Which did not make things easy for Moore – she had to face off against seven-time champion

Stephanie Gilmore in one of the preliminary heats.

However, Wright tumbled out of contention in her quarterfinal duel against fellow Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons, while Moore cruised to the final, beating South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag in her own quarter-final [see “Rising Star” in our September edition for

m

sub

EDP Cascais Girls Pro (2013) Vans US Open of Surfing (2013) Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach (2013) Drug Aware Margaret River Pro (2013) Billabong Rio Pro (2011) Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic (2011) Roxy Pro Gold Coast (2011) TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival (2010) Rip Curl Pro Portugal (2010) Gidget Pro Sunset Beach (2009)

more on Bianca, who finished the tour in eighth place of 19 participants]. Moore then beat Fitzgibbons in the final to take the victory, her fourth win of the season, and the title. This means that for just the third time in the past 16 years an Australian has not been crowned women’s world champion. www.shmmag.co.za SHM 123

Head to Head

The Don vs Sachin Who is the greatest cricket batsman in the history of the game? Sachin Tendulkar or Donald Bradman. This is the question fuelling a raging debate in the comments section of cricket websites around the world. Even though the two batsmen played in different eras, they had much in common – both were diminutive, well-balanced, tactical and aggressive right-handers, and, most importantly, they shared the remarkable ability to rack up high run totals. They made their teams invincible, and they broke the opposition. And, while ODIs and Twenty20 cricket started decades after Bradman retired, we can compare their Test cricket careers.

Donald George Bradman Born country batting style last test

27 August 1908 Australia Right-handed 14 August 1948

tests played

52

runs scored

6,996

100s top score

29 334

Test Debut:

30 Nov 1928 vs England batting average

99.94 photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

124 SHM November 2013

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 24 April 1973 India Right-handed 22 March 2013

Born country batting style last test

198

tests played

15,837

runs scored

51 248

100s top score

Test Debut:

15 Nov 1989 vs Pakistan batting average

53.86 There is a 40 year gap between Bradman’s last Test match and Tendulkar’s first. In that time the game of cricket has, of course, changed. We are sure that Bradman’s no-holds-barred aggressiveness would have been a hit with fast-paced, modern ODIs. But Bradman never had to face bowlers at 150km/h as often as Tendulkar has. What he did have to negotiate was the sticky and unpredictable nature of the uncovered pitch, which cricket’s governing bodies only began covering in the 1960s. Tendulkar has known what to expect (more or less) from the pitches he played on, and he has played on far more than Bradman. While Bradman played 37 of his 52 Tests against England, Tendulkar notched up his astronomical run totals playing against a vast range of skilled teams across the world. Tendulkar’s longevity, and his ability to score a record-breaking 15,837 runs in Test cricket alone, are a remarkable testament to his skill.

Still, it is difficult to argue with Bradman’s Test batting average, a whopping 99.94 per game over 20 years, including an eightyear interruption brought on by WW2. No one even comes close.

Furthermore, Bradman averaged over 100 in seven different calendar years, Tendulkar managed that feat only in two.

However, it is possible that Bradman’s and Tendulkar’s true value lies on the impact they had on society and their countries: Tendulkar is seen as a hero in India, a man who gave rise to a new confidence in the nation, while Bradman was a symbol of hope in Australia during the Great Depression.Tendulkar will retire after his 200th Test match next year against the West Indies.

All stats correct as of 17 October www.shmmag.co.za SHM2013 125

Yesterday’s heroes

White Lightning

photos BY Gallo images / Getty images / afp

For more than 37 years, Hugh Tayfield’s record as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker had not been remotely threatened (in no small measure due to SA cricket’s sporting isolation).

Over an 11-year career, Tayfield notched up 170 wickets – a remarkable achievement in just 37 Tests. But unfortunately it couldn’t last, and during the 1997 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, that record was bettered as Allan Donald took 6-59 in Australia’s second innings.

When AD finally called it a day in 2002, his Test tally of 330 wickets set the new South African benchmark; this figure has since been bettered by Shaun Pollock (421), Makhaya Ntini (390) and Dale Steyn (332 and counting).

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Fine point

Darren Ravens

It’s not you.

It’s him.

t

here was a time when football clubs were regional entities with players, managers and fans coming from the same shared locale. Today, little remains of this in the elite echelons of the sport beyond the names of clubs, and assorted regionalised idiosyncrasies, dialects and stereotypes.

The modern football club is a brand, and fandom is an assortment of gimcracks, gewgaws and knick-knacks with a tacked-on club crest.

Like any brand, a football club’s story is the carefully cultivated product of selective memory, PR spin and propaganda. Fans want the truth? Fans can’t handle the truth.

A football club is underpinned by a three-way relationship between manager, players and fans. It’s a stable, happy relationship but like every threeway affair, destined for heartbreak and disappointment. Among its participants, only one is there for love.

Therein lies the difference between you, the devoted football fan and him, the fans’ favourite player; when you go to the big match on Sunday you pay to be there while he’s being paid to be there.

Your love and passion for the club is heartfelt; his is generic, superficial, stagemanaged badge-kissing.

Loyalty is allegiance, fidelity and faithfulness. It is dedication and commitment to a cause. In football, loyalty is a delusion and fans who expect it are naïve chumps. There’s little room for sentiment in the business of football. To demand loyalty is to embrace

hypocrisy. We demand it from our best players when they are at the peak of their powers. Everyone else is a disposable asset, to be shipped off when the price is right. Ryan Giggs aside, when the ravages of time bring a decline in performance, yesteryear’s hero is dispatched like Boxer to the glue factory. In his place will come tomorrow’s hero; the man they now call Judas at the club he’s just left.

An elite player’s career is over in less than two decades. I’ve had stuff in my fridge for longer than that. You expect him to waste his best years hanging around your underachieving club? Reality suggests your club’s star man, and his devoted ally, Mr Agent’s Commission, is already eyeing pastures anew. I’m sorry to break it to you, but he’s just not that into you.

Avoid the heartbreak by keeping a close watch for these signs that he’s just not that into you: 1.

1 His head’s been turned – think The Exorcist but with fewer priests and less vomiting. Wayne Rooney’s recent flirtations with Chelsea are a perfect example. So turned was Rooney’s head that he has had to start the season with protective headgear.

2. The sick note – invariably, a player 2 agitating for a transfer will be beset by random, unspecified “niggles” that prevent participation at his current club.

See Bale to Real.

3. He’s homesick – more rare an ailment, 3 homesickness will occasionally afflict a player so severely that he’s unable to bear living another day in the very place he’s

The modern football club is a brand, and fandom is an assortment of gimcracks, gewgaws and knick-knacks with a tacked-on club crest.

128 SHM November 2013

Darren Ravens is an amateur footballer who possesses such spectacular inability that 15 years ago he founded his own club just to get a game. He’s also a diehard Liverpool fan whose expectations for the season vacillate between deluded optimism and depressive realism with metronomic regularity. @darrenravens

lived for the past few years. Carlos Tevez was one such man, who was so homesick and filled with longing for his family in Argentina that he had to leave England to go live in Italy.

4 4. He won’t commit – contract talks stalled like a learner driver on an incline pullaway? It’s probably best to start mentally preparing for an exit. Or, you know, offer more money.

5 5. He’s openly flirting – issuing the comeand-get-me-plea, the want-away player brazenly flirts, as Willian did with Liverpool a few months back. That would be the same Willian who completed a medical at Spurs just a week later. A medical he’d follow up by signing for Chelsea.

6 6. The Dear John letter – football’s equivalent is the Written Transfer Request. Dry your eyes mate. He doesn’t deserve you anyway.

7 7. He’s being distant – aka “pulling an Odemwingie” after Peter Odemwingie’s famous 100km deadline-day drive to Queens Park Rangers, the club he wanted to join despite not having had any deal agreed with West Brom, his employer at the time. His message was certainly clear, even if his thinking was not.

He’s not worth the tears… It’s not you.

It’s him.

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130 SHM November 2013