Ken Borland

Lions coach John Mitchell has been suspended with immediate effect due to the complaints of the players, SuperRugby franchise president Kevin de Klerk said on Saturday.

Mitchell, the former coach of the All Blacks and Perth-based SuperRugby team the Western Force, will now face a disciplinary inquiry by the board of the Johannesburg-based franchise.

“John Mitchell has been suspended pending an investigation, after complaints from the players,” De Klerk confirmed to Reuters on Saturday.

“The complaints of the players are quite serious and it’s not just from one or two players, it’s a very substantial number which we cannot take lightly. As the custodians of Gauteng rugby, we are responsible to our staff and the well-being of our players.”

While De Klerk, a former Springbok lock, said he could not elaborate on the complaints due to the sub-judice nature of the investigation, they are believed to revolve around Mitchell’s management style.

The New Zealander has had a simmering relationship with media and sponsors, and local newspapers have reported anonymous players alleging verbal abuse by Mitchell. The 48-year-old has also publicly criticised individual players.

Mitchell joined the Lions in mid-2010 and steered them to the Currie Cup title last year, but their SuperRugby form has been poor with the Lions being South Africa’s worst-performing franchise over the last two years and set to be replaced by the Southern Kings next year.

Assistant coaches Carlos Spencer and Johan Ackermann will now take over the coaching reins as the Lions return to SuperRugby action next weekend.

The Stormers hung on to the top spot in the South African Conference with a 19-14 (half-time 9-11) victory over the Bulls in the all-South African SuperRugby derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Stormers were trailing 9-14 and pinned back in their own territory for most of the second half by the Bulls’ strong territorial kicking game and forwards who were dominant in the collisions, but the unerring boot of flyhalf Peter Grant kicked a penalty, before wing Bryan Habana scored a 69th-minute try to snatch the victory from the team he first made his name for.

The Bulls’ percentage rugby seemed to be wearing down the Stormers as flyhalf Morne Steyn kicked three penalties and eighthman Pierre Spies muscled over for a try after a free kick from a lineout inside the Stormers 22.

But it was the only try the Stormers’ brilliant defensive system allowed, despite the Bulls spending 66% of the match in their territory.

Flank Siya Kolisi, who had been an enormous defensive presence throughout, superbly evaded two on-rushing Bulls defenders, racing into the 22 and firing a pinpoint pass to Habana, who up till then had been limited to attacking off up-and-unders.

Grant kicked the conversion to stretch the lead to 19-14 and ensure the Bulls had to score a try in the last 10 minutes, a penalty not being enough to win.

With the Lions dealing a mortal blow to the Sharks with their shock victory in Johannesburg earlier on Saturday, the Stormers are now five points clear at the top of the South African Conference, with three matches to play against the lowly Lions, Cheetahs and Rebels.

The Stormers are on 54 points, in second place in the overall standings, with the Bulls on 49 and the Sharks on 45 with just two matches to play.

Scorers

Stormers – Try: Bryan Habana. Conversion: Peter Grant. Penalties: Grant (4).

Bulls – Try: Pierre Spies. Penalties: Morne Steyn (3).

One could forgive the Blue Bulls if their focus in the last week has been on the 15 players who ran out on to the park – in shocking pink – for yesterday’s crunch SuperRugby game against the Stormers.

But the Blue Bulls Rugby Union (BBRU) is not only concerned about the land’s finest rugby players currently battling it out for top spot in the South African Conference, but also the enormous talent that lies in the northern third of the country.

That is why they also launched their impressive and vital new schools rugby project, in conjunction with SuperSport’s Let’s Play initiative and local and national government, at Loftus Versfeld last week.

Johan Schoeman, the BBRU Game Development Manager, revealed that their dedicated development programme would introduce boys and girls to rugby skills, with particular attention given to those schools in the disadvantaged communities.

Although the programme will also be implemented in the vast area of Limpopo, the Tshwane area has been divided into six clusters – North-West, North-East, South-West, Inner City, South-East and Pioneer, which includes areas such as Mamelodi, Soshunguve, Garunkuwa and Atteridgeville.

Forty-four primary schools have been identified for the programme and Schoeman said the aim was to “develop a sustainable rugby culture”.

“If we go into schools, then we have to work with the Education Department and sponsors are also big role-players – SuperSport have already given about R360 000.

“But we can’t just go in and leave them with kit. It’s a long process that ultimately reaches playing contact rugby in leagues. It’s about talent identification and creating a passion for the game, especially amongst the headmasters,” Schoeman said.

The programme has received the backing of both the Department of Education and Sports and Recreation SA.

“We congratulate and thank the Blue Bulls for their approach. They have made a big commitment to build and inspire young people,” Vuyani Mpofu, the Deputy DG of the Gauteng Department of Education said.

Deputy Sports Minister Gert Oosthuizen said: “The Blue Bulls have a wonderful mission statement about promoting rugby development in their surrounding communities and they have set a good example. We would like to assist them and make every Rand work, deploy the money optimally.”

Schoeman said the BBRU would cover the training of coaches and referees, while teams would start training at schools and fixtures would be held from July.

All this comes at a price, of course, and the Let’s Play initiative are major backers.

“In the pilot project last year, we introduced 1500 boys and girls between the ages of seven and 10 to basic rugby skills. Like the government’s School Sport Policy, we want to play our part in promoting healthy lifestyles through sport participation,” Let’s Play manager Vaughn Bishop said.

Both Schoeman and Oosthuizen identified the lack of facilities as the programme’s biggest frustration.

“The key challenge is facilities – there’s a total skew in terms of quality and access, a lot have been vandalised or are lying unused,” Oosthuizen said.

“Fifteen percent of the municipal grants have now been ring-fenced for facilities. We want to ensure access for all people, because it is access for the masses that will make us a winning nation.

“There is a very good case for sport – crime reduction. Those are the facts and this very good investment by the Blue Bulls will have a positive impact on the community that supports them,” the deputy minister said.

Wing Willie le Roux scored a brilliant second try, which was converted by replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn, as the Cheetahs snatched a 35-34 (half-time 21-31) victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in their SuperRugby match at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.

Le Roux’s 57th-minute try, which followed a try by prop WP Nel just three minutes earlier, came after the Cheetahs attacked from the restart, Ebersohn chipping over the defence and Le Roux then gathering and chipping again before reclaiming the ball and dashing over the tryline.

The Waratahs, who led 34-21 in the 48th minute after scoring four tries in the first half, can look back on a disappointing second half and their failure to use two late chances to claim victory. Flyhalf Berrick Barnes was short with an angled 55-metre penalty in the 76th minute and, as regular time came to an end, they had a maul inside the Cheetahs 22 and Barnes lined up for the drop goal. But they could not get the ball out as Cheetahs loose forwards Ashley Johnson and Heinrich Brussow did great work in keeping the ball off the ground.

The Cheetahs can threaten the best of sides with ball in hand, but their defence can be porous and the Waratahs took advantage of 18 missed tackles in the first half and particularly poor defence around the fringes to rush to the four-try bonus point in 33 minutes.

Flank Dave Dennis, who would be a thorn in the Cheetahs’ side all game, scored the first try in the fourth minute when he pounced on a loose ball behind the tryline, and he would be instrumental in the Waratahs’ next try just two minutes later when he burst clear from the kickoff and was only stopped inside the home side’s 22. From the resulting ruck, scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin found lock Sitaleki Timani on the charge and he powered through for the try.

The Cheetahs then drew level at 14-14 with two tries in four minutes. The first came from a wonderfully-worked move off a lineout as lock Izak van der Westhuizen fed Brussow, who linked up with Johnson charging through on the angle. The bushy-haired eighthman then found scrumhalf Piet van Zyl, who dotted down in the tackle.

Le Roux’s brilliant attacking running then started and finished a move in the 19th minute, with flyhalf Riaan Smit’s second successful conversion tying the scores at 14-14.

The Waratahs edged ahead again in the 22nd minute when McKibbin kicked a penalty after the Cheetahs took him out at a ruck, but his satisfaction turned to horror four minutes later when his pass was intercepted by hooker Adriaan Strauss and the Cheetahs captain ran in the try from halfway.

But the Cheetahs’ terrible defence saw them concede two tries in the last seven minutes of the first half.

Wing Drew Mitchell showed great skill to keep a kick in play, after which centre Adam Ashley-Cooper chipped ahead, the bounce was kind and the quick hands of McKibben put outside centre Rob Horne away on a 45-metre run to the tryline.

Timani then scored his second try, after good work by fullback Bernard Foley down the left touchline and eighthman Wycliff Palu at the kickoff, leaving the Cheetahs in need of a major turnaround.

Nel went low and hard to score for the Free Staters in the 54th minute, before Le Roux floored the Waratahs with another moment of brilliance three minutes later.

His moment of inspiration gave the Cheetahs their fifth win this season, the most they have achieved in a SuperRugby campaign.

Scorers

Cheetahs – Tries: Piet van Zyl, Willie le Roux (2), Adriaan Strauss, WP Nel. Conversions: Riaan Smit (4), S. Ebersohn.

Waratahs – Tries: Dave Dennis, Sitaleki Timani (2), Rob Horne. Conversions: Brendan McKibbin (4). Penalties: McKibbin (2).