New normal will be different - du Plessis

Former Springbok prop Dr Jannie du Plessis, who was part of the Lions team in Super Rugby this year, has predicted the consequence of the coronavirus pandemic meant 'normal will never be quite like we knew it.'

Du Plessis, a 70-Test veteran between 2007-15, spoke to Netwerk24 from his family farm near Bethlehem in the eastern Free State.

"My wife and I decided it would be better for us to come to the farm. There is more space for everyone here and from a health point of view and exposure to people, it's also better," he said.

Du Plessis was with the Lions in Australia when Super Rugby was abandoned under the weight of the virus shutdowns across the competition.

"I did some research on the coronavirus and for me, it has about the same effect as [the] 1918 'flu pandemic – the human immune system was not strong enough for that virus and it led to a large number of deaths.

"What gave me a fright of this current virus was how quickly it spread. We were still on tour in Australia just a few weeks ago, but it makes you sit up and take note how it spread worldwide in a short period," he said.

Du Plessis was confident the South African Government had acted correctly by putting measures, in spite of scepticism from some in the country about the lockdown.

Training to remain in shape for rugby was tough without the company of teammates and he was hopeful a solution could soon be found for players to get as close to normality as possible.

De Plessis had played for Montpellier from 2015-19 before returning to South Africa. His brother, former Springbok hooker Bismarck is still playing for Montpellier and is in France with his family for the duration.

McCaw's leadership is unchallenged

Laying bare a prejudice that has marked his journalistic career, Stephen Jones of The Sunday Times has defied all logic by not rating two-time World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw among the top rugby captains.

Jones has long described his often bizarre comments as baiting New Zealanders. He's not the first 'Fleet Streeter' to have done this.

Kiwis had long been used to the verbal fisticuffs since their own T.P. McLean and Welshman J.B.G Thomas regularly lobbed verbal hand grenades at each other in their post-tour books, aimed at achieving the same readership appeal that Jones has since pursued.

The predictability of it all has parallels with the annual race to decry the haka whenever an All Black team is due to tour Britain, and especially England, and the erroneous claims that All Black strength is entirely dependent on an annual hoovering of talent through the Pacific Islands.

That fails to remember that England especially is not averse to claiming Pacific players when it suits, although Britain has some form in this regard having encouraged the transference of the best minds of New Zealand for more than 100 years, and Britain's other former colonies through the Rhodes Scholarship scheme, to boost its intelligence factor. Ironically, if rugby had not tied McCaw to New Zealand he may well have been a Rhodes Scholar.

But all that aside, the inadequacy of Jones' argument is borne by his discounting of those afore-mentioned two Rugby World Cup wins. The first in New Zealand was achieved under McCaw while he played the playoff games on one foot, as an effective example of inspiration to teammates as possible, while the second in England was a celebration of one of the great eras of the game in what was the finest of all Rugby World Cup finals.

What adds strength to McCaw's position among the leaders of repute is the way he picked up his captaincy skills from the very pits of despair as a result of the Cardiff debacle in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal loss to France in 2007.

To move from that low to the high of 2011, with a side required to play the final with its fourth choice first five-eighths, speaks volumes to McCaw's leadership.

There is a pretty hefty list of evidence in McCaw's favour including the fact that in 110 Tests as captain his side only lost 10 times and in his 148-Test career he enjoyed a winning percentage of 88.5 percent.

Apart from any other consideration, the fact is that in a time when flankers were the victims of multiple law changes, McCaw remained the most consistent of performers in his position while also leading his side.

To ignore those factors in considering the top contenders as leading captains says more about Jones than it does about McCaw. As Donald Trump might tweet: 'Sad'.

To remember how New Zealanders felt about McCaw's contribution to one of the greatest of all rugby eras, 10 years as No1 side in the world of which he led for five years, watch the crowd reaction when he left the field after his last home Test at Eden Park in 2015. And Justin Marshall's words sum it all up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuLbW6etzBA

1981 keeps on giving

That 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand just won't go away.

It's a guaranteed headline, and this story is no exception, such was the trauma it caused New Zealand society, certainly until the Covid-19 outbreak, the most damaging event in modern history.

But it turns out a golf day attended by several members of the touring side has resulted in a cluster of the coronavirus developing among them.

First to succumb was centre Danie Gerber who tested positive after the golf day which was held at the Border Hotel complex at Jan Kempdorp.

One of the team, Henning van Aswegen is a joint owner of the hotel. Others who attended were flanker Burger Geldenhuys (the villain who broke Andy Dalton's jaw with a blindside punch on the later Cavaliers tour), halfback Divan Serfontein, midfielder Colin Beck and fullback Gysie Pienaar.

It is reported in South Africa that Serfontein, Beck and Geldenhuys have all tested positive for Covid-19 while another former international Robbie Blair, who also attended the golf day had also tested positive.

Gerber told South African media that he had no idea where he may have contracted the virus.

"I have been playing golf in several places and travelling all over [South Africa]. I have been on six aircraft and in contact with a lot of people," he said.

Gerber said he started to feel unwell, his body was sore and he had a fever. He went to a drive-through test centre in Port Elizabeth on a Thursday and was advised on Friday that he had a positive test.

South Africa has imposed a 21-day lockdown due to the epidemic.

No Test cricket commentaries...hold your horses

One of the first items on New Zealand Cricket's board meeting agenda when it next meets should be a revisiting of their radio rights issue.

Just before the coronavirus shutdown took place, NZC learned that they would not be able to sell their radio rights to NZME, the owner of Radio Sport. That effectively meant the end of ball-by-ball Test cricket broadcasting over the radio waves.

NZME said it couldn't afford to pay what NZC was asking so that was that with no other players in the market – at least so far as the general public were aware.

Disappointment for cricket fans around the nation loomed – no more Test cricket broadcasts.

But in stepped Mother Nature.

Covid-19 shut New Zealand down and many other places in the world too – for how long no one knows.

One thing is certain, however, the borders are going to remain closed for a longer period than the shutdown occurring in New Zealand at the moment.

Different countries around the world are treating the virus in different ways with varying results. Their recovery times will all be different thus affecting international movement.

Whatever the right method of dealing with the issue, it is certain that the lingering impact of the pandemic is going to be a transformed approach to future travel.

That has significant consequences for sport as we knew it pre-coronavirus.

While nothing can be sure, it does appear that New Zealand's sportspeople are going to have to play in their own backyard, probably at least until midway through next year, or until a vaccine can be found, manufactured in the quantities necessary and distributed all over the world.

So from just that perspective, cricket, rugby, netball, league, you name it they are all in the same boat, are going to have to organise competition from within.

That will be long overdue among critics who felt the professional era had provided a disconnect with grassroots levels of sport in New Zealand.

In cricket's case, that meant a devaluation of their domestic cricket programme while those fortunate enough to be able to travel the globe selling themselves off to whatever T20 league was offering an incentive, put themselves ahead of the best interests of the New Zealand game.

Suddenly, the New Zealand game has stepped into the picture in a much more meaningful place and the chance to play cricket should mean those who are able to afford their time will be expected to play in domestic cricket.

With no internationals, in Tests, ODIs or T20 formats, the only cricket is going to be for the Plunket Shield in first-class games, and in domestic reduced overs formats.

Given the likely public appetite for sports events, could the consequence of localised sport be a return to radio and, possibly even, television coverage of games?

That would be a huge boost for cricket and a guaranteed level of income for those running the game at the top level.

Undoubtedly, such a structure would involve more commercial reality coming into consideration to suit all who would be involved.

Variations on a theme could also apply to rugby, netball, league and other sports whether team-oriented or individual sports.

It could be sports own version of Back to the Future.

Glenn Delaney on Scarlets and All Blacks

When the rugby world returns to normal former Highlanders' assistant coach Glenn Delaney will take the coaching reins at the Scarlets in Llanelli.

He left the Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise to join Scarletts under former Crusaders assistant coach Brad Mooar, who halfway through his first season with the club was appointed to Ian Foster's All Blacks' coaching team.

Delaney told The Rugby Paper that he had loved his first eight months with the Scarlets.

"The decision to come here was considered heavily and it's turned out to be much better than I'd ever hoped. We've got a fabulous playing group, a really energising group of backroom staff and a club that has an unbelievable history with some wonderful characters," he said.

Making comparisons between the Welsh club and the Canterbury system he had also worked in, Delaney said the belief the game was a provider to society that enabled people to be at their very best was something they had in common.

One of the unique factors involved with the Scarlets was dealing with the high number of Test players the side had.

"There's a lot of call on their time so you go from stages of the season where it might be like playing a full Test match against, say, Leinster, to other games where you're playing more of a developing, emerging-type side where guys are learning the game," he said.

Delaney said his coaching experience with Nottingham, London Irish, Canterbury, the Highlanders and the Scarlets had all been positive.

"I've been really fortunate to have been able to go to the places I have. I've loved every environment I've been in, they're all unique and they've all taught me a lot," he said.

Taking on the Scarlets' role would continue what he believed was great work done by Mooar.

"An opportunity arose here from that and, after a considered process, I was happy to accept the jobs. It's great to get the chance to continue the work he's started," he said.

Delaney said having spent more time in the northern hemisphere than the south he could see how good England had become at the Rugby World Cup when they beat the All Blacks in the semifinal.

"The best team won that game and the standard of their play went through the roof. The irony, of course, is that nobody really spoke much about South Africa but they came through and were the best team in the end. The All Blacks would have been disappointed to finish in that third-fourth place game but that's the nature of rugby, it can't all be one way. It shows the game's evolving and that's what we want. We need more teams to be competing at that level."

Delaney said he thought the All Blacks coaching group would be a 'hell of a coaching combination'.

"There's always good depth in New Zealand rugby and when you look at a lad like Crusaders' centre/wing Braydon Ennor, there's an example of a 22-year-old guy who's come through the Canterbury system and is taking Super Rugby by storm. He'll find his way into the All Blacks' environment now, as guys like Jack Goodhue and Sevu Reece have, and they'll always have players who are well coach, have a good skill set and can play the game at a high level.

"Scott Barrett is a mainstay of the pack they'll probably build around now and there're enough experienced guys like Nepo Laulala, Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Dane Coles, Sam Cane and Aaron Smith to ensure a pretty seamless transition. There'll be some exuberance about that New Zealand team now," he said.

Pivac gets a tick from top player

Wayne Pivac, Wales' New Zealand replacement for Warren Gatland as national coach, has had the stamp of approval from first five-eighths Dan Biggar.

In four Six Nations games before play stopped due to covid-19, Wales had managed only a win over Italy.

But Biggar told British SKY Sport that Pivac's attractive style of play would be beneficial for Wales as they continued their development through the transitional period between the respective coaching styles of Gatland and Pivac.

Biggar said there were already signs in the side's performances that they were not far off finding the right mix.

"It was always going to be a massive challenge [for Pivac], coming in for Warren Gatland, with the success he had over the last eight to 10 years.

"When you change something that has been in place for so long, it sometimes will take a little bit of time. We just fell short against France, we just fell short against England.

"In a new pattern and a slightly new style of play, I think it's certainly going to help us in terms of playing more attractive rugby and scoring more tries.

"I think that probably takes a couple of campaigns to get used to everything and I'm sure, come the Autumn internationals if we can get back playing, I think you'll see us much stronger," he said.

Warriors' story told warts and all

Dotting his last 'i' and crossed his last 't' on his 25-year history of the Warriors, author Will Evans must have felt it was a suitable celebratory record of the Auckland-based rugby league club.

However, circumstances have made its publication even more timely.

At a time when the National Rugby League season should be gathering momentum as teams settle into their weekly rigmarole to prepare for their games, the clubs instead are in lockdown and in no way sure of what the future holds.

That applies not only to the Warriors but also to those more established clubs.

Uncertainty is the spectre stalking the administrative halls of all sports in the world. Games that seemed bulletproof with astronomical salaries being paid to players have proven no better than local amateur clubs in being able to avoid the calamitous situation that has befallen the world, across all levels of society.

League, try as it might have in fighting until the bitter end against the tides of economic reality, is no different and is now in a holding pattern attempting to avoid a downward spiral.

With only regurgitated visual feeds from bygone days and personal memories to assuage the need for game coverage, fans are no doubt doing it hard.

At least in the case of Warriors fans, those lucky enough to have bought a copy of Warriors – Celebrating 25 years of the New Zealand Warriors, will have something to help make up for the lack of on-field action.

As records of a club go, author Evans has left no stone unturned in chronicling every key moment, good and bad, that has occurred since it became clear in 1992 that the Warriors would be admitted to the competition from 1995.

The danger in attempting to be so complete in recording so much in the space available, and the book runs to 391 pages, is that the sheer weight of information leaves the reader bogged down.

However, clever use of breakout panels, statistical sheets on all manner of facts, including full season wraps, are backed by relevant interviews with players to present an interesting and complete record of the club's story.

A few samples: What is the Australian ground with the best winning percentage for the Warriors, where do they struggle most to win, what are the average crowds across the years, who has played the most games for and against the Warriors, who has scored most points against them, who are the Warriors to have been in the most wins for the side, et al?

The Warriors have not lacked for characters through the years and all have their moments in the text of this book.

Interspersed throughout the text are 25 great games from the 25 years. There's plenty there for fans to debate as they wait for their team to return to the field of play.

It is also lavishly illustrated but if there is one regret there is no overall assessment of the impact of the club on the game in New Zealand and its place in the overall structure of sport in the country while also looking at the issues of a New Zealand-based side competing in an Australian competition, something that until the covid-19 virus roadblock on sport was occurring in basketball and soccer.

This is an especially New Zealand issue because of the amount of air travel and displacement involved against sides who only have to travel so far once or twice a season while the New Zealand sides have to do it usually every two weeks.

The basketball Breakers have shown New Zealand sides can win under those circumstances but is it a barrier the Warriors can ever break down?

For all that, there is no doubting that Evans has presented a worthy history of a special side in the New Zealand sporting structure, one that is only of increased relevance given recent circumstances.

Warriors – Celebrating 25 years of the New Zealand Warriors by Will Evans. Published by Bateman Books, 2019.

Boks pin financial hopes on Lions tour

Sports administrators around the world are contemplating a future they have no control over and which may drastically alter the landscape when normalcy returns.

From a rugby perspective, South African administrators are looking to next year's British & Irish Lions tour to their country as a potential game saver for them.

A member of the professional board of Western Province Rugby, Raymond van Niekerk told Netwerk 24, "If the Lions tour generates a lot of income then it could save the game in South Africa."

With the world game on hold, and the prospect that rugby could remain that way until the new year, especially as a result of countries deciding to retain closed borders possibly until a vaccine has been discovered and distributed, even that remains a long shot.

"Everyone in the game around the world is under pressure. If you get a big financial incentive, it will offer a golden opportunity to save the industry – which takes to heart the interests of the franchise teams, players, supporters and interested parties," van Niekerk said.

However, he said there were major financial implications ahead for rugby unions who were already struggling. He felt South Africa was in a better position than European clubs, especially those in England, to cope with the situation.

"We're not close to cutting players' salaries," he said.

"We have a good relationship with our players. The issue is nothing that they could have controlled.

"There's a big difference compared to overseas clubs who are privately owned. They move quickly and ruthlessly. 

"We are more people-oriented because the provincial unions are involved. We want to limit the negative impact on players and personnel as much as possible," he said.

However, there are two organisations involved in the tour.

Springbok interests will have to hope that if the Lions are to be the financial lifeline for South Africa then British and Irish rugby recover sufficiently to not only retain players but to put in place effective competitions from which a Lions team could be selected.

It may be baseball but it applies to all sport

Veteran Washington Post sportswriter Thomas Boswell has summed up the attitude of many with his story marking what would have been the start of the baseball season in the United States.

The baseball season encapsulates our capacity for enthusiasm, love and creativity. In a challenging time for all, it is important to remember these feelings will someday return.

The start of baseball season is no small gift. When it comes, it will be as bright as ever.

I once titled a book “Why Time Begins on Opening Day.” For others, time may seem to begin when gardens bloom, ski slopes open or a Kennedy Center opera season launches. Elk season, no doubt, lifts some hearts, though not those of elks.

But I was somewhat serious. The start of the baseball season, which would have been Thursday for the World Series champion Washington Nationals and every other team, means that for 60 percent of the year there will be major league baseball almost every day. The weight of that — or rather the buoyancy of it — is no small gift.

I have said that baseball is a great support to people who have emotional voids, gaps, difficulties. That is to say: all of us. Those parts of us that don’t function well. Those parts of us that are sad or depressed — not every day — can really use baseball. It isn’t just the child in a wheelchair or the shut-in senior citizen listening to the radio that needs the game. Part of us, part of everyone, is a baseball fan who needs the game at that level.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, when life was suddenly more serious more of the time, there also was more need for it to be fun at least some of the time. I wrote then that, as soon as

possible, my family went to a college football game. We needed it — and deserved it. Not the way a New York fireman or a medic at the Pentagon deserved it. But enough.

Now, when life is suddenly more serious more of the time, when hundreds of millions of us feel a bit akin to shut-ins, baseball — our reliable daily respite available when needed — is taken away from us.

In fact, every form of communal fun, release and camaraderie is now snatched from us indefinitely, whether it is any kind of sports event — live or on TV — or a concert or just an evening with a group of friends at a restaurant.

Our reality, much of it on television and the Internet, constantly chronicles new virus cases and deaths, complete with charts of how we compare with every country on earth. Live television focuses on the pandemic, politics, lost jobs, a plunging economy and stocks. In a few weeks, our emotions may have been assaulted, our fears awakened, from more angles than ever in my life, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates of American deaths that could surpass the combat deaths in the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined.

As a 72-year-old male, part of a virus-prone demographic, I know the numbers are still stacked very heavily in my favor. In fact, if covid-19 never existed, my chances of dying within a year — of some other cause — are about 10 times greater than from this pandemic. ( Yeah, I looked it up.) Yet I spend plenty of every day fretting — working on my heart attack? — about people or problems tied to the novel coronavirus.

This must be a real kneeslapper to the virus.

Perhaps what is most endangered now is neither our lives nor our jobs nor our savings — though all are in peril — but our internal lives. Who will we be, how will we see the world and our countrymen, on the other side of covid-19? Amid such isolation, will we keep intact all of our best qualities — our capacity for enthusiasm, love, creativity and our currently trampled innocent joy?

For now, we’re stripped of many of our customary forms of community, connection, enthusiasm and stress-reducing distraction. But we’re also robbed of an often-overlooked element of how humans stay sane and functional. We are excellent at inventing routinized excuses for a smile, for cheers, for celebrations of arbitrary things that we decide to enjoy. For example, who needs birthday parties or anniversaries or dozens of our other made-up excuses to be happy?

On that psychological scale, sports are one of the best deals in town. At times, identifying with a favorite team or player who’s in the dumpster can be painful. But for most of us, most of the time, sports are: “Heads, I win. Tails, meh.”

Among the many things denied to us these days, let’s not pretend that sports are a small one. Just because games are “meaningless” doesn’t mean that their subtraction represents no loss in value to us. “No Sports Again Today” costs many of us plenty, though there’s no scale on which to measure it.

That’s why, until normal daily life returns to us and sports with it, you will see no apology in this column for discussing anything regarding sports — whether present, future or in our rich, shared past. Wherever we can find it, we need to maintain whatever gives us a sense of a continuing community conversation. Even a defiant, silly insistence on cheerful memories and imagined futures are linkages between us that we should defend. That certainly includes sports.

So welcome to Opening Day, even though it won’t be the usual kind — more a makeshift mishmash, long on last October’s memories. Neither will we enjoy the usual skip in the heartbeat on the day the Masters should have started. And if you miss March Madness right this minute, that only means your sense of connection to a jubilant, shocking, month long experience remains intact.

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All of these things will return in time, along with more than 99 percent of us. For now, everything is just as bleak as it seems with even darker skies straight ahead. However, the future, not so far away, should be just as bright with anticipation as ever. But we will have to fight together, like the teams we most admire, to get there.

All Blacks Sevens face challenging situation

All Blacks Sevens rugby, and chances for success at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, might be a victim of the coronavirus pandemic.

(World Rugby)

The cancellation of the 2019-20 World Sevens Series was untimely for New Zealand. Sitting on top of the points table and starting to play with more consistency, while also introducing newer players, they were set to mount a good campaign to achieve that much wanted Olympic gold medal.

But if a week is a long time in politics, 12-16 months is a long time in an energy-high sport like rugby sevens.

Will that postponement of the Olympic Games until next year hinder New Zealand's chances"?

Three of the All Blacks Sevens side, Tim Mikkelson, Scott Curry and Kurt Baker are in their 30s.

Mikkelson, 33, has played 459 games for the side, Scott Curry, 31, has played 250 and Kurt Baker, 31, has played 201 games.

That's an awful lot of experience for any side to lose so New Zealand will be hoping that the enforced break from playing this season may inhibit the natural rugby ageing process while also allowing them to avoid injury and to get themselves into better physical condition.

There is a worry, however. And that is if World Rugby, looking to not only meet its commercial commitments to its competition sponsor but also to complete its full sequence of postponed tournaments, greatly increases the demands on the players to squeeze a season and a half of tournaments into one season, culminating in the Olympic Games.

That carries consequences for older players of all nations, of course, and would require the utmost of planning in reducing the potential impact on those players most vulnerable to time catching up with them and the ever attendant possibility of injuries.

No doubt all manner of projections of what might occur are occupying the best brains in the business during this time of lockdown.

But as so many have been forecasting, the world is likely to look much different when all this upheaval is over, and the prizes will go to those who best adapt to whatever the circumstances.

That will ensure the interest is not only going to be in on-field performance but in think tanks off the field.

The one thing the All Blacks Sevens has going for them is the introduction of some exciting talent already in the 2019-20 season and that gives them a head start on many others.

Lambie not lost to Sharks rugby

It was one of the most disappointing facts of South African rugby in recent years that outstanding back Pat Lambie was never able to fulfil the immense potential he brought to the game.

Another victim of concussions, he was forced out at the age of 28.

Lambie always had rugby in his genes. His grandfather Nic Labuschagne played five Tests for England between 1953-55 while he was also related to Scotland internationals Peter and Gordon Brown.

Lambie, who played 56 Tests for the Springboks between 2010-16, also played 71 times for the Sharks in Super Rugby between 2010 and 2017. His versatility saw him at first five-eighths, centre and fullback but his chances in his favoured position in the five-eighths were blocked by the Springboks adherence to Morne Steyn as their favoured starter.

He said 2019 had been a tough year not to be playing the game because it was a World Cup year and he had dreamt about being in Japan and playing in the tournament.

"The World Cup was always in your face and very hard to ignore. I also had to find my feet in the working world after moving back to South Africa from France," he told rugbyrocks.com.

Now back living in South Africa with his wife Kate and son Jackson, he is working in property development but also spending time as a kicking consultant with the Sharks.

He has been working closely with 2019 Super Rugby's top points scorer Curwin Bosch when the competition was suspended with 86 points having landed 15 conversions and 16 penalty goals at a success rate of 76 percent.

Bosch, playing consistently at first five-eighths, something Lambie was never given the chance to do both for the Sharks and Springboks, has been a key performer for the Sharks.

And Lambie likes what he has seen with Bosch's goal-kicking, especially after two vital penalty goals against the Stormers in the Sharks' 24-14 win.

"It all my playing days, I never saw anyone strike the ball as well as Curwin," Lambie said.

"I can't take any credit for how well he's kicked this season, though, because he has such a great work ethic. He loves kicking, he kicks beautifully and has a very sound technique.

"During training, you imagine kicking penalties like those he kicked against the Stormers. When you get the opportunity to do it in a game and you can execute and knock them through the posts, it's very rewarding as a player. It's also wonderful as a kicking consultant and supporter to do that," he said.

Lambie is not a full-time member of the coaching panel. He said he goes into training once or twice a week and talks with coach Sean Everitt about what the players need and whether they want some extra kicking sessions.

"I get the players to do some drills that I really enjoyed as a player. I'll chat to Sean about the team's kicking plans for that week and try to incorporate them into the training we do," he said.

July Tests still on World Rugby's radar

World Rugby has been working on plans regarding the scheduled July Test match programme.

That has consequences for the All Blacks who are due to host Wales for two Tests and Scotland for one Test.

(World Rugby)

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont (pictured) said a 'virtual meeting' of its executive committee and professional games committee had been plotting a plan for the future.

While the health and wellbeing of the rugby community was their main responsibility it was also important to have everyone working together during the exploratory discussion on the future.

That involved financial risk modelling and assessing opportunities to make the most of the rugby calendar when it is safe to resume rugby.

So far, none of the July Tests has been cancelled.

"The latest projections are that the impact of covid-19 on public and sporting activities could extend for many more weeks, maybe months, and this productive meeting was an important and unified step towards tackling a global problem together in the best interests of all stakeholders," Beaumont said.

"We are intensively examining scenario planning for the scheduled July internationals, should such a plan be required, while also considering ways to optimise the international competition calendar on and off the field for all when it is safe and appropriate to resume rugby activities," he said.

White joins Bulls to rebuild winning culture

World Cup-winning coach in 2007 Jake White has been appointed director of rugby for the Bulls.

He will work with Bulls coach Pote Human in the role until the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Sitting in 12^th position on the Super Rugby ladder, the Bulls had only one win in six games before the season was interrupted by the coronavirus.

But White intends hitting the ground running.

"We need to rebuild a winning culture at Loftus, and that will no doubt bring the fans back to their beloved Loftus Versfeld.

"This won't be easy, but we are up for it," White said.

"It's no secret that our franchise rugby needs to be strong for the Boks to be strong. I'm looking forward to doing whatever it takes to keep them at number one," he said.

White has been coaching in Japan recently but has had stints in France and Australia since his side won the World Cup in France in 2007.

"The Bulls brand has always been a powerhouse in rugby, and respected around the world. There's a great history and heritage here, and I'm looking forward to adding my contribution to the Bulls' legacy," he said.

He said there was a determination in the Bulls' organisation to re-invent and re-mould the face of rugby in South Africa.

Does SA rugby need Jake White?

James Dalton was always a combative bugger on the rugby field: if there was trouble happening he was never far away.

 

The former Springboks hooker has maintained that persona in his post-game career.

His latest shot has been taken at former Springbok coach Jake White, rugby's challenger to John Mitchell for the honour of living out the adage about having had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus.

White has been in discussions with the Bulls to take on their director of rugby position, which has been vacant since Alan Zondagh resigned.

Dalton, a 43-Test veteran with the Springboks, is familiar with White, he was a member of the first team White coached at Jeppe High School for Boys and was responsible for Dalton's transfer from flanker to hooker, something Dalton wasn't happy with at the time.

Dalton, who is publicising his recently-released book, Bulletproof: The James Dalton Story, is worried what the consequences of White returning to a coaching role in South Africa.

He told Nerwerk24, "It's worrying that they're considering bring White back.

"Our rugby is healthy at the moment and do you really want to bring someone into the system who's going to clash with Rassie [Erasmus-the director of SA Rugby] and the new structures, just because he thinks he's Jack White who won the World Cup in 2007?" Dalton said.

Erasmus does have one over White in that regard, at least his team played against the No.1 team in the world, New Zealand, during the World Cup his side won, although it proved a loss for the Springboks.

"Jake is not a people's person," Dalton said.

"He's an autocrat. I'm not saying he's not a good coach, but if you look at the World Cup group of 2007, then there are probably only about six players that want something to do with him.

"You'd think here is a coach who will be admired for his achievements, but the players from that generation want nothing to do with him," Dalton said. 

Having White involved could affect South Africa's ability to build on its World Cup success.

Dalton said he believed South African rugby was in a very strong position, to the point where it could emulate the All Blacks in winning consecutive Rugby World Cups.

In their background, Dalton had been a schoolboy star following his transfer to hooker. Before one of the big games of their season, a centennial game against a long-standing rival, Dalton was suspended for one game after a scuffle that blew up after he retaliated for being pushed. The school's stand in suspending him meant he would miss the centennial game and resulted in a full-blooded sit-down strike by boys at the school which was only ended when Dalton was encouraged by the authorities to speak to his schoolmates and to have them return to their classes.

White said, "I doubt any school had a more influential player than him. He was already practising with the Transvaal men's team a couple of times a week."

In his book, In Black and White – The Jake White Story, White said, "Dalton is a tough bloke who has had his fair share of headlines over the years, and not always for the right reasons. But, in his defence, he would never have represented his country as a five-foot-something hooker if he didn't have that mean streak and aggression in his make-up. If he had been Mr Nice Guy, he wouldn't have played for South Africa."

When forcing Dalton reluctantly to move from flanker to hooker, White said, "He eventually relented, but in the first scrum in the front row he shouted to me, 'I'm uncomfortable, coach.' I told him: 'Well, make yourself comfortable.' So he moved the whole scrum on his own just to make himself more comfortable. I knew at that moment he had it all…Athletically he had it all to make it as a hooker. I'm sure he'll admit that I was right. I don't take the credit for making James a superb rugby player, because he always had the talent. But I played a role in him finding his place on the field."