Thembinkosi Lorch (Backpagemedia)

Orlando Pirates have confirmed that both Justin Shonga and Thembinkosi Lorch were dropped from their squad “following a breach of the team’s protocols.”

Pirates are in action on Tuesday evening against Mamelodi Sundowns as the ABSA Premiership gets underway for the first time since March.

“All players have been educated, and are constantly reminded, of their responsibilities as public servants and role models,” said a statement released on the club website. 

“It is our role and duty to ensure that all members of this organisation are fully compliant and aware of the measures that are in place.  

“Both players will be afforded the opportunity to return to play once the disciplinary processes have been finalised.

“Mr Lorch and Mr Shonga will also be required to undergo two Covid-19 tests, which both must be negative, as the BSE protocols dictate, before they resume any club activities,” the statement concluded.

Pirates are currently third on the Absa Premiership log.

– Compiled by Sport24 staff

SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux talks to the media after France was announced as the host nation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup at Royal Garden Hotel in London on 15 November 2017 (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

• SA Rugby has welcomed the decision by the South African government that will allow for the return of local rugby.
• This will only happen if certain conditions are met, including playing at empty stadiums.
• If everything goes according to plan, SA Rugby are hoping for a mid-September return for the sport.

Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby has welcomed the fact that rugby has been given the green light to return by Nathi Mthethwa, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.

This will only happen if certain conditions are met, however.

This includes measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and that contact training as well as matches must be carried out without spectators.

Only limited people will be allowed to attend games as part of essential services to make these events possible and from within a “bio safe environment”.

“Since the start of this pandemic, we have been working hard at ensuring we get back on the field and we’ve kept the government informed on our plans throughout the process,” said Roux.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to move to the next phase of our return-to-play plans and will provide the Department with all the necessary information required, such as venues for matches, to ensure a smooth transition to competitive rugby.

“Having said that, our eight franchise teams that returned to the training field recently still need a few more weeks of preparation before they will be ready for matches, and from SA Rugby’s side we will assist them with whatever is necessary.

“At this stage, we hope to have our first matches by early to mid-September and our plans on the structure of the planned competition will be announced in due course, as we have various options to consider.”

The Bulls, Lions, Sharks, Stormers, Cheetahs, Southern Kings, Griquas and Pumas have all started with non-contact training over the last few weeks.

At this point, a return to international competition is not possible under the new regulations but Roux hopes this will change in the coming months.

“We know the World Rugby window for the Rugby Championship is only in November and December, so we’re hopeful that in due course the government will be in a position to further relax the restrictions,” said Roux.

“For now, the most important thing is to ensure we get the action underway as we have many stakeholders, such as our broadcast partner, competition and team sponsors and our supporters, who are keen to see rugby again.”

– Compiled by Sport24 staff

The Brumbies, who started heading down a more South African type path when Jake White was coaching them nearly a decade ago, got out of a hole against the Reds in Canberra at the weekend almost exclusively because of their maul.

They set up three line-out driving opportunities in the game and they scored all three times. Their third try came at a time when the Reds were on top, leading by six points, and any other kind of try was highly unlikely.

The Highlanders came back from the break driven by Covid-19 with much more intent in the maul and it reaped dividends for them in the early weeks of Aotearoa. The Hurricanes appear to have learned from the mauling they received from the Bok dominated Stormers pack in the first round of the original global edition of Super Rugby 2020, and the Blues have profited from an opposite experience on their more recent visit to Cape Town.

The Blues’ strong scrumming and driving off the scrum accounted for a lot of the headway they made against the Highlanders as they kept their Aotearoa silverware hopes alive with their first win in Dunedin since 2011 and hence their first win under the roof at the new Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Sunday’s performance was also built around a physical defensive system and a highly potent penchant for making the most of the resulting turn-over ball. Pivotal to what was possibly the Blues’ best showing in the competition so far was a much more influential performance from Beauden Barrett than we have seen from him since he traded the yellow of the Hurricanes for the blue jersey.

It was Barrett’s second appearance at flyhalf since making the switch back from fullback and he revelled in being back in his preferred position, with a little dummy kick followed by a skip pass that led to one of the tries being just one highlight of a strong game for him.

If there is one weakness in Barrett it remains the one that has always plagued him and which possibly played a role in the All Black decision to include both him and Richie Mo’unga in the same team: His place-kicking.

While Barrett was brilliant in his all-round game, his attempts off the tee produced a shower. Only two of his five conversion attempts were successful, and not all of them were from difficult positions.

The crucial thing for the Blues was that they managed to grab the bonus point for scoring three more tries than the Highlanders, and that means there is still a chance that the final game of the season between the Blues and Crusaders in Auckland two Sundays hence will have something riding on it.

But the Blues are still two points behind the Crusaders. The Crusaders have a game in hand on the second-placed team.

While the Blues take their second bye this coming weekend, the Crusaders are at home to the Highlanders. On the evidence of what we saw in the latest round, the Crusaders should win, and that will effectively clinch them the first Aotearoa trophy and render the blockbusting Eden Park finale to the league competition a dead rubber.

The Crusaders were back to their best in their away win against the Chiefs in the first Aotearoa game to be played this past weekend but it was nonetheless another game where the Chiefs must wonder what they have done to invoke the ire of the gods of rugby luck.

The Crusaders try that eventually put some daylight between the teams deep into the second half should never have been awarded as there was a clear knock-on from Quinten Strange in the build-up.

Indeed, refereeing will remain a talking point in New Zealand this week, as the Blues were unlucky not to have an intercept try to flanker Dalton Papili’i awarded to them in Dunedin on Sunday. It was at a critical stage of the game too, with the Blues in a position to put daylight on the scoreboard had the try been awarded. Instead, they had to go back for a penalty that Josh Ioane kicked to give the Highlanders the lead by one point.

Fortunately, the Blues were too relentless on the day for it to become an issue, but it would have been considered another controversial Aotearoa refereeing moment had they not won.

Meanwhile, the Brumbies’ close sneak against the Reds leaves them as the only unbeaten team in Australia at the halfway point of that competition and they are in a commanding position on the log table. But they are far from convincing with their performances, and the Reds are improving.

The quality of both packs is good and overall the Australian competition, although nowhere near the level of the Aotearoa, is improving.

– READ this story on SuperSport.com

Sarel Pretorius excelled in Super Rugby for the Cheetahs and Waratahs.

• Sarel Pretorius holds Super Rugby close to his heart, but believes SA rugby will probably make the switch to Europe.
• The recently retired 36-year-old says New Zealand’s announcement means there’s little reason for the local game to stay south.
• Pretorius argues that SA teams may also find it a bit easier to win tournaments in Europe.

Back in the late 1990s, when broadcasting agreements weren’t quite the dictators of kick-off times, Sarel Pretorius would rise early to catch some Super Rugby action.

The prospect of missing out on a precious commodity, like a teenager’s sleep-in, didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“Weekend mornings were filled with Super Rugby matches. It was one of the joys of growing up,” he told Sport24.

“More importantly, those years did a lot for my early grounding as a rugby player. The quality and tempo were fantastic. I dreamt of playing in the tournament, to be part of the action.”

Given the indelible mark Pretorius – affectionately named ‘Super Sarel’ for his exploits – left on Super Rugby during fruitful stints with the Cheetahs and Waratahs, one would expect the 36-year-old former scrumhalf to lean south when it comes to the debate on South African rugby’s future direction.

It’s not the case.

In fact, Pretorius dutifully believes the realities of a rugby landscape, shaken up by the Covid-19 pandemic, means the local game will probably have to accept that the road ahead is Europe or bust.

“When you think about it, South African rugby has stayed loyal to the southern hemisphere region because the New Zealanders valued our participation,” he said.

“But when they recently announced that they want to go at it on their own, the writing was on the wall.

“If the Kiwis don’t want to play as regularly against us anymore, then there’s probably not much reason to look for many alternatives, except going to Europe.”

The recent retiree, who is back in Bloemfontein to assume his role as a relationship manager for a local insurance firm, is obviously taking the pragmatic view on the matter.

However, he’s actually just as conflicted over it as many others.

Pretorius excelled in Super Rugby, his initiative, skill and electrifying pace capturing the imagination of a litany of supporters.

He was crowned as South Africa’s Super Rugby Player of the Year in 2011 and left a legacy of being highly unlucky to only become an Emerging Springbok.

“Super Rugby was great. Admittedly, I and various other teammates had a lot of freedom to express ourselves at the Cheetahs. We were encouraged to play what was in front of us,” said Pretorius.

“The nature of the tournament is very conducive for it. It’s high in tempo, high in skill and very competitive. You always felt as if you were part of innovation. I don’t think you can really blame anyone who continues to argue that playing regularly against New Zealand teams has kept us strong.”

Yet, even if his move to Wales’ Newport-based Dragons in 2015 was viewed as lucrative if somewhat less glamorous, it proved an immensely enriching experience for Pretorius.

“At 31, I was exposed to a totally different style of play and conditions. You obviously never forget your more attacking roots, but playing in the UK and Europe forces you to become tighter as a player,” he said.

“You’re required to focus more on tactics, to adapt your game-management skills and make sure your tactical kicking is up to scratch. I found it very valuable to play in the northern hemisphere. I know it’s a cliche, but it really made me a more rounded player.”

Unfortunately, such best-of-both-worlds scenarios simply aren’t realistic in this new cutthroat era of the professional game.

It means South African rugby now needs to make decisions that transcend Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s ideal of possessing a national squad of players versed in all conditions.   

It’s now about where one can adapt quicker, deliver relatively immediate results and drive commercial value.

“Let’s be honest, the time difference between South Africa and Australasia will always be an issue. That travel takes it out of you and it always put us at a disadvantage in terms of winning big matches.

“You don’t just go and win a semifinal and final in New Zealand. Maybe that’s one factor that would make a move to the north more beneficial,” said Pretorius.

“I’m not saying any South African franchise will just waltz into a PRO14 and start winning the tournament. But the travel is better on the body and the conditions also perhaps suit our traditional style of play a bit better.

“The Cheetahs managed to reach the playoffs of the PRO14 in their very first season.

“It will be sad to see us not part of Super Rugby anymore, but the alternative is hardly a bad one.”