GLRU
The Golden Lions Rugby Union have released a media statement outlining which players are available for the forthcoming campaign in defence of the Currie Cup, as well as an update on which players have long term injuries, and the status of players involved with the national squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship.
All the Lions’ Currie Cup heroes except for Kwagga Smith, who is contracted for National Sevens duty, have been retained for Super Rugby while 9 other stalwarts have strengthened the squad.
Flanker Derick Minnie returns after a long injury lay-off and winger Ruan Combrink and centre Harold Vorster have also been added to the Super Rugby group after missing some Currie Cup action due to injury.
Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies, centre Lionel Mapoe and hooker Akker van der Merwe, as well as Warrick Tecklenburg will return from overseas duty.
The new squad members are former Steval Pumas scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, Leopards No 9 Dillon Smit, Leopards lock Robert Kruger and Pumas prop Corné Fourie, who are all full-blooded Lions now.
Scrumhalf Faf de Klerk has signed a contract with the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) which will see him based permanently in Johannesburg. De Klerk, 24, was a shining light for the Emirates Lions during this year’s Super Rugby competition but because he was still contracted to the Steval Pumas, he had to return to Nelspruit for the Currie Cup season. However, the GLRU on Wednesday confirmed that the scrumhalf has signed a deal which means he will also be available for Currie Cup duty.
Steval Pumas fullback JW Bell is the only new face who hasn’t donned the Lions jersey yet.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has paid tribute to a former stalwart of the union, Charles Pieterse, who has passed away.
Pieterse played 50 games for the then Transvaal in the 1980s. He also represented the SA Barbarians and played all of his club rugby for Randfontein Rugby Club.
GLRU President Kevin de Klerk expressed his deepest sympathy to Pieterse’s family, on behalf of the union.
Corné Fourie
Faf de Klerk
The Golden Lions Rugby Union have announced the signing for the 2016 season of 2 of their Emirates Lions franchise partners, the Steval Pumas’ players, Faf de Klerk and Corné Fourie.
The Media Release reads as follows:
Lions Rugby (Pty) Ltd is pleased to announce the contracting of Pumas duo Faf de Klerk and Corné Fourie for the 2016 season.
Both De Klerk and Fourie, who have played Vodacom Super Rugby for the Emirates Lions through loan agreements over the past 2 seasons, will return to Johannesburg under permanent contracts in November 2015.
The pair has signed 1-year contracts with Lions Rugby and will thus be involved in both the 2016 Vodacom Super Rugby and ABSA Currie Cup campaigns.
Swys de Bruin
The Golden Lions Rugby Union moved quickly to dismiss media speculation that backline coach Swys de Bruin was leaving the franchise.
De Bruin has been linked to the position of head coach at the Southern Kings, who will return to Super Rugby when the competition expands to 18 teams next year.
The GLRU said in a statement that De Bruin has a contract in place and will be continuing in his role with the team for the “foreseeable future”.
De Bruin is the current backline coach with the Lions, who had just completed their best Super Rugby season – 9 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw – since Transvaal won the Super 10 competition in 1993 and played in the 1995 Super 10 Final.
GLRU Chief Executive Officer Rudolf Straeuli confirmed that De Bruin will maintain his current role at the union.
Dick Muir
Former Lions head coach and Springbok assistant coach Dick Muir is suing the Golden Lions Rugby Union over alleged breach of contract.
According to reports, Muir is claiming R 4.6 Million from the union, after his 3-year contract was allegedly ended after only 1 year in 2010.
In court documents submitted to the labour court in Johannesburg, the GLRU denies the claim and said Muir was paid R 900 000.00 too much during his time with the union.
Muir, who helped the Springboks prepare for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, was at times absent for as long as a month.
The GLRU claims “wrongful payments” for all those months Muir was absent.
Emirates Lions Head Coach Johan Ackermann, and Lions (Vodacom Cup) Coach Russel Winter have named their respective extended squads for this weekend’s warm up matches against a NWU-Pukke XV and a Leopards XV respectively.
It appears that a “mix and match” approach has been taken as both squads include a mixture of both experienced Super Rugby, Currie Cup and junior players.
The newly-formed Soweto Rugby Union does not see itself as a ‘rebel’ entity and there is no immediate plan for the Soweto club to break away from the Golden Lions.
First conceptualised during the Soweto Sports Indaba of 2013 and then registered as a proprietary limited company in September last year, the SRU see themselves as a “township or a rural union that will give opportunities to the disadvantaged”.
However, there is no direct link between the club (SRC) and the union (SRU), other than both being based in the sprawling township on the South-Western borders of the City of Johannesburg.
Deon van Rensburg
Michael Bondesio
Golden Lions players Michael Bondesio and Deon van Rensburg have announced their retirement from professional rugby.
The duo had been struggling with injuries of late and decided to call it a day, the union announced via their official Facebook page.
Scrumhalf Bondesio had not played much this year due to a knee injury, while wing / centre Van Rensburg was laid low by a rib injury.
Currie Cup runners up, the Golden Lions, have lost one of their sponsors ahead of the 2015 season.
Redefine Properties recently announced it would not be renewing its three-year sponsorship of the team.
Redefine stepped forward to rescue the Golden Lions Rugby Union in 2012 after a previous sponsor said the union was insolvent.
Xerox Golden Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has named his team to take on the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Ellis Park this Saturday.
In the forwards, Derick Minnie will start at flank and Warren Whiteley has returned from Springbok duty to start at eighthman. He will also captain the side.
As a result of these changes, Warwick Tecklenburg and Willie Britz will shift to the bench to provide cover.
Meanwhile, in the backline, Howard Mnisi will get a start at inside centre. Harold Vorster will provide centre cover off the wood.
Johan Ackermann
The Golden Lions Rugby Union have secured the services of their successful coach, Johan Ackermann, for at least another two years.
The GLRU revealed that Ackermann signed an extension of the contract as head coach until 31 October 2016.
Ackermann will be coach of the super Rugby and Currie Cup teams.
He was officially appointed as coach by the GLRU in 2013, in the wake of the union’s acrimonious public spat with former All Black mentor John Mitchell.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has named their CONTRACTED SQUAD for 2015. They also boast 4 Ex-Springboks amongst the Management and Coaching staff.
Kevin de Klerk, Rudolf Staeuli, Ashwin Willemse and Johan Ackerman, all Ex-Springboks are all in important positions at the Golden Lions Rugby Union, from President down to Head Coach.
Contracted Players:
The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) has announced its new contracted player list for the 2015 season.
While financial constraints remain a challenge for the Lions, retaining talent remains their main priority. This is not unheard of as all South African unions have suffered financial constraints and must content with increasing pressure from the lucrative European and Japanese markets.
With the GLRU not yet covered by a title sponsor, the union has secured the input of several valuable partners to assist in the procurement process. Through building stronger relationships with stakeholders, the Lions put on a record-breaking Super Rugby showing, after the franchise’s return to top flight competition in 2014.
They finished the Super Rugby season in 12th spot, but surprised many pundits with their seven victories, capped by a 60-25 thrashing of the Cheetahs last weekend.
An established buy-in value system from coaching staff, players and management has seen the Lions secure the services of both top-class experienced and up-and-coming players.
Golden Lions Head Coach, Russell Winter, has announced his team to take on GWK Griquas in Kimberley on Friday night.
Should the Golden Lions win, they will remain as the team with the most victories in the competition with 6, but if Griquas triumph they will join the Golden Lions as 5 time winners of the competition.
Vox Telecom, a leading South African telecoms provider, has signed an associate / extended sponsorship agreement with the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU).
The agreement allows Vox Telecom one title sponsor game during the Super Rugby tournament and also gives the company branding rights for the remainder of the competition and Currie Cup.
The partnership between the Golden Lions Rugby Union and MTN South Africa came to an end as of Friday 13 December 2013, with the company opting not to renew their sponsorship of the GLRU teams.
After a fruitful three-year relationship, the telecommunications giant have chosen to realign their sponsorship portfolio and will no longer sponsor a rugby outfit.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union is pleased to announce the appointment of ex-Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli, as General Manager: Professional Rugby and Commercial.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) have once again changed or shifted the goal posts for the remaining schedule of The Lions Challenge.
The French Barbarians game, which was cancelled and substituted with a SA Barbarians game, now falls away too, and in stead the Lions now have a bye weekend on that weekend.
They can colour it anyway they like, but it stenches of more incompetence and poor execution of a season which was always going to be a difficult one for the embattled Union.
6 International games have now been canned already!
Doctor Louis Luyt, a big man and bigger figure in Rugby Circles in South African Rugby, passed away ealier today, 1 February 2013.
As I was perusing Facebook, I came across the comment below.
While I applaud the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) for appointing a businessman as new pemanent CEO, one who has played club rugby, and is involved in school rugby, I do feel for the outgoing Acting CEO, Ruben Moggee. He took over from Manie Reynecke under very trying circumstances, and along with Kevin De Klerk, had to oversee many crises that came to head during his tenure. One only has think of the GUMA TAC debacle, the Pumas and Leopards suing the union for unpaid fees and the biggest humiliation of them all, being kicked out of Super Rugby.
The Official Media Release of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, reads as follows regarding former head coach, John Mitchell, who has been redeployed as a technical advisor to the Union, and Johan Ackermann has been appointed as head coach. I hope this long and drawn out saga has finally been resloved and the Lions can concentrate on the Lions Challenge and Currie Cup in their quest to regain Super Rugby status.
John Mitchell has been ‘requested’ to report for duty at the Golden Lions Rugby Union headquarters in Johannesburg on Friday.
The disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against the Lions’ suspended coach John Mitchell has been postponed until next week, Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) president Kevin de Klerk said on Tuesday.
“It was postponed until next week after the chairperson of the hearing had taken ill,” De Klerk said.
The GLRU have announced in a media release that former talsimatic captain Joshua Strauss is to leave the Lions and play for the Glasgow Warriors until May 2015.
He will depart for Scotland in the next 2 weeks.
The full press release reads:
Short and sweet… that was the One-liner Media Release by the Golden Lions Rugby Union!
More days, more strife, at the Lions, what’s new?
The disciplinary hearing of suspended Lions coach John Mitchell will start at the offices of the Golden Lions Rugby Union on Tuesday.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union have suspended their head coach John Mitchell.
It will be goodbye Lions, hello Kings come 2013 as a political decision has been endorsed to allow only ONE TEAM per PROVINCE.
We’ve received an official request from the Golden Lions Rugby Union (with which we have extremely good working relations) to help advertise for them to fill the vacant post of CEO of the Union.
Manie Reyneke, the previous CEO, vacated the position late last year, and a new appointment has not been made.
I’m sure there are some of our readers who might just qualify for the position!
Be assured, with all the rumours and innuendo going around about the Lions, that it WILL NOT be the easiest of jobs to do, one would need a skin thicker than that of a rhino!
Herewith the full Advert:
This despite on Thursday announcing a three-year multimillion-rand sponsorship deal from property firm Redefine.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union made their “Major Announcement”, at a Media Briefing at the Auditorium at Coca-Cola Park, this afternoon.
Redefine Properties, the Second largest property company in South Africa, a listed entity on the Johannesburg, is going to be MTN’s co-sponsor for the Golden Lions Rugby Union in a 3-year deal with the Golden Lions Rugby Union!
Lions first-choice hooker Bandise Maku will be sidelined for some time after having surgery on a torn pectoral muscle, leaving Martin Bezuidenhout and Callie Visagie to wrestle over the No.2 jersey.
Who knows, this comes out after the New Age report from last week. If de Klerk ever loses his job, I strongly suggest he offers his c.v. to the Fire Department, he spends his life at the Lions putting out fires – would fit in perfectly! As to the heading, any guesses to who KdK may be out of the Magic Roundabout gang?
The expected Court battle between Guma Tac & the Golden Lions Rugby Union is underway, with an Application for Liquidation launched in the South Gauteng High Court.
The Golden Lions are hopelessly bankrupt, according to a report in possession of The New Age.
France forward Imanol Harinordoquy has slammed his coach Marc Lievremont for criticising the French players in public after they were beaten last weekend by Tonga in the Rugby World Cup.