The following from SARU: The Springboks will once again show their support for the victims of serious and/or catastrophic rugby injuries when they take to the field in Saturday’s Test against Italy in East London wearing the logo of the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund on their shorts.

The Fund commemorates its 30th anniversary this year, and the entire Springbok squad have once again shown their commitment to the cause by volunteering to man the phones during the annual Players’ Fund telethon to be held in Johannesburg.

The hugely popular televised fundraiser forms part of the 14th annual Bell’s Night of the Stars Rugby Extravaganza, to be held at the Ballroom at Montecasino on Tuesday 17 August – four days before the Springboks take on the All Blacks in a Vodacom Tri-Nations clash at Coca-Cola Park.

The Fund, which currently looks after 102 recipients around the country, is hoping to break last year’s record of R1-million raised at the event through table sales and telephonic pledges from fans.

Table bookings are now open for what has become one of the most popular events on the South African social calendar. World Cup winner Joel Stransky will be the keynote speaker with Dan Nicholl acting as master of ceremonies on an evening where fans can enjoy an unforgettable night by socialising with their past and present Springbok rugby heroes.

“I know I speak on behalf of the entire Springbok team when I say that I’m incredibly proud to wear the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund logo every time I run onto the field for a Test match,” said Springbok captain John Smit. “Everyone involved in rugby can be very proud of what the Fund has achieved over the past 30 years and as always we’ll be right behind them in their efforts to raise funds for  those guys who have been injured playing the game they love.”

The Fund was established in 1980 by former Springbok captain Morné du Plessis after his teammate Chris Burger was fatally injured playing for Western Province.

“The Fund is something very close to my heart and this event really can make a difference to the players of all ages and levels who have to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair,” said chairman Du Plessis. “What started out as a tribute to a fallen team-mate has grown into something special, of which the entire South African rugby fraternity can be truly proud.”

In 2009, five players died and another four became quadriplegics after being injured on the field. However, that number has sharply decreased in 2010, thanks to the partnership between the Fund, SARU and the BokSmart National Rugby Safety Programme, launched last year.

“All the behind-the-scenes hard work that the Fund and its team has put in over the past 30 years has ultimately contributed to the development of the BokSmart programme,” said Dr Wayne Viljoen, SARU’s Project Manager for BokSmart. “This great Bok side showing their support and wearing the Fund logo will hopefully continue to raise awareness of the safety issues of the game and make our job of keeping players out of wheelchairs much easier.”

The telethon will be televised live on SuperSport 1 from 8-10pm. The public are encouraged to call in to 082 235 0420 and speak to a Springbok and pledge an amount to the Fund. During the telethon, there will be live television crossovers to the banquet, allowing viewers to feel part of the evening’s activities.

“We are extremely proud of our association with the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund and the Bell’s Night of the Stars,” said Dominic Malan, marketing manager of Bell’s Extra Special Old Scotch Whisky. “We have been involved in raising funds for this charity for the past decade and the Night of the Stars is an event that not only aids the raising of these all-important funds but is a celebration of all the hard work that the Fund does to enrich communities through their charitable efforts.”

Tables cost R10,000 with Gauteng based ex-Springboks filling one of the 10 seats. To book or for more information, visit www.playersfund.org.za, phone Gail or Alison on (+27 21) 659 5615 or email events@playersfund.org.za.

For more information about BokSmart and how you can help make the game safer, please visit www.boksmart.com or phone (+27 21) 659 6732.

I was eagerly anticipating the 1st game of the 2010 Super 14 last Friday, at Cafe Sofia in Greenpoint, when in walked our good mate, Bob Skinstad. He had just flown back from shooting an episode of Boots & All on Supersport the night before and came in for a quick bite to eat.

We got chatting about, amongst other things, the raging success of the recent 2010 Cape Town Tens Tournament, the Super 14 and how we thought things would unfold in 2010 with the new tackle law interpretations. The conversation drifted to how we thought the referees would perform. If there would be more consistency with citings this year, now that there are specially appointed citing commissioners for the entire duration of the 2010 Super 14. Some exciting new faces to have a look out for and so on.

From there on out, things got serious when we started talking about our fantasy rugby SuperDreamTeams on Supersport. Each of us reckoned our DreamTeams were going to kill it in the opening round. As it turns out, we both did pretty horribly, due to a few unfortunate late withdrawals within our respective starting lineups. (you can still sign up for Supersport SuperDreamTeams and join in all the action, by clicking here)

All in all, it was a pretty good morning of rugby with a great breakfast thrown in for good measure. Just as Bob was leaving, he mentioned I should make a turn at the V&A Waterfront his week to see a project he was doing. I was pretty curious to say the least.

So off I went to the V&A Waterfront, only to find Bob in an orange jumpsuit, locked away in a wooden prison cell. It was the last thing I expected to see, so I quickly found out exactly what was going on.

This is what went down: Read More >>

Jason Robinson & Brian Habana supporting a great cause

I found this video on YouTube of Jason Robinson & Brian Habana giving their time towards the development of grassroots rugby. In connection with HSBC Kit Collection and SOS IRB Kit Aid, they held a rugby clinic for 400 local township kids at St John’s College during the HSBC rugby festival in JHB.

We here at Blogspotrugby are firmly committed to the development of grassroots rugby within South Africa, so I decided to do a little research.

 The SOS/IRB Kit Aid Website had the following to say:  

Mission Statement

SOS/iRB Kit Aid is a rugby project that gives less advantaged children around the world a chance to play and develop rugby in emerging nations through the collection and distribution of unused/unwanted kit from the UK and Ireland. Read More >>