It was June 2006 when the  South African Rhinos left their shores for a two test tour of Italy 
The Rhinos were successful back then but that was 12 years ago 
This October in Sydney, South Africa and Italy meet again in test match rugby league 
The match will be played at Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park on Friday October 12  with a
7 30 pm kick off.

Italy will be fielding a team of talented young players of Australian /Italian heritage
As was the case with the South Africa  / Malta test back in June, the Rhinos will be drawing on players from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Both countries will be looking at developing their players for their respective  RLWC 21 campaigns
This test recognises the great relationship that both countries share and it is another step forward  to an ongoing partnership on and off the field.

The match will be live streamed. The link will be posted shortly before kick off on the South African Rugby League  and Italian Rugby League facebook  pages

Game day schedule  

Italy Heritage u13s v Aust Indigenous U13s - 4  pm 

Italy Heritage U16s v Malta U16s  - 5pm

Italy Heritage   U18s  v Malta  U18s - 6:15 pm 

Italy v South Africa  7:30 pm

via Malta Rugby League Facebook Page

​24-6 down at half time, Malta left their comeback too late with South Africa holding on for a 30-24 victory at St Marys yesterday afternoon. 

A tough passionate performance by both teams with big contact and end to end action.

Malta officials whilst disappointed with the result, were impressed with the outstanding debuts from the Cronin brothers Peter and Jesse.

The Rhinos are very chuffed in the feat that they Ranked 34 beat a team that Ranked 18th. 

After the match, Rhinos head coach,Jon Wilson said that he was extremely  proud of his players for the effort they put in and the passion and tenacity that they showed out on the field. He also mentioned the great support he received   from Assistant  coach Isaac Thomas and the rest of the coaching staff. Wilson said it was the best win he has been involved in , in his four years with the Rhinos .

The Rhinos lost two players for the match in the first half,being Wicus Boshoff (ankle 4th minute) and Byron Hutchinson , ruled out with HIA concussion  at half time. 

In addition  to this, Seth Buckley (hamstring) and Chelsea Michael Adams  (shoulder) shouldn't  have returned but with no other options both players returned and  toughed it out.

With the Rhinos  having only one player on the bench for 2nd half ,the forwards played the house down with the  entire pack playing big minutes.

South Africa's scrambling defence got them over the line in front of a fast finishing Malta.
Malta  were a tough, well drilled side that never gave up which was evident till the final whistle .

Africa United U18s showed their continued improvement,  narrowly going down to Malta U18s in the earlier match Unavailable for the match were Rhinos regular starting  prop,Shane Gillham  (knee) Tweed Heads Seagulls, Mitchell Frei (Wynnum Seagulls), Brendan  Frei (Wyong Roos ), 
Jackson Frei (Wyong  Roos), Kamren Cryer (Blacktown Workers ),Coby Thomas(Roosters ) and Eddie Proudler  ( South Perth).

The South  African players and management  would like to thank Malta  for the match and wish them  all the best in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
​
Rhinos Tries: Juan Benadie, Byron Hutchinson, Will Smith, Darren O'Donovan, Jason King

Malta Tries: Zach Borg, Cameron Mazzelli, Jono Dallas 2
Malta Goals: Nathan Benson 4/4

View the 1st Half HERE
View the 2nd Half HERE

This year’s International Representative weekend will feature the inaugural clash between the South African Rhinos and the Malta Knights in a test that Rhinos coach Jon Wilson describes as being about “building our talent pool up.”​

The Rhinos will have a strong Queensland flavour, featuring Tweed Heads Seagulls prop Shane Gillham, Halvor Harris (Lock, Townsville), Ashley Bull (Second row, Cairns), Jason King (Hooker, Emerald Cowboys), Byron Hutchinson Centre, Runaway Bay) and Andre-Carl Joubert (Five Eighth, Springsure Mountain Men) as well as former Queensland based players Brendan and Jackson Frei.
South Africa’s long-term aim is to increase their international ranking points (they are currently ranked 35th) and push for World Cup qualification, however this test is about bringing the team together, establishing a culture and getting an idea of where they sit compared to a more established and experienced side like Malta, who are currently ranked 17th.

“We want to keep this group together and hopefully get them playing more regularly, perhaps with annual fixtures” Wilson said “We’ve picked a fairly hard first up test for this group, Malta have been together a long time and have a large talent pool of players playing at a high level” he said.
One of the key people in building that culture is former Ipswich Jet and Brisbane Bronco Gideon Mzembe. Mzembe, who has previously played for South Africa is the teams’ strength and conditioning coach and described representing his homeland as an honour. “My grandmother grew up in the apartheid era, it is truly an honour to represent South Africa, for all the people from those generations that never got the chance.” He said.
The Rhinos is a heritage team, with the majority the players having been born in South Africa before emigrating to Australia. It is one of the strongest South African sides assembled. Previous Rhinos sides have been picked from players playing in South African competitions, whereas this squad consists of players with plenty of A Grade, under 20’s, Intrust Super Cup and Intrust Super Premiership experience.
As well as the Queensland contingent the side will include five players from NSW, five from Western Australia, one from New Zealand and two (Marcelle Viljoen and Zach Van Loggerenber) who will fly over from South Africa.
The test is being played on Sunday 24th of June at St Marys Rugby League stadium and will be live streamed. Go to the South African Rugby League Heritage Association Facebook page or the Malta Rugby League page for details of the stream.

Source: http://www.asiapacificrl.com
​
The Malta Rugby League have today confirmed that the Malta Knights will feature in this year’s International Representative weekend when they return to Sydney’s west to take on the South African Rhinos at St Marys Rugby League Club Stadium on Sunday 24th June. 
The inaugural Test between the two nations will take part on the NRL / Super League free weekend and will be the Knights final hit-out prior to the Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship starting in September.
The match will be South Africa’s first Test Match since playing Niue in Pretoria in 2016 and will be the Rhinos first Australian tour since 2015.
As curtain raisers to the Test Match, the 2018 annual Tas Baitieri Interstate Challenge Cup between NSW Tertiary Student Rugby League and Universities Rugby League Queensland will take place, as well as an Under 18s clash between the Malta Heritage team and an African United side.
The Malta v South Africa Test is the fourth Test Match confirmed for the International Representative weekend, with England set to take on New Zealand in Denver, whilst Campbeltown Stadium in Sydney will host a Double Header featuring Tonga, Samoa, Lebanon and Papua New Guinea.

SARL have again been invited to participate in the 2018 Commonwealth Games – Festival for Rugby League that will be hosted in Australia.
 
The previous Commonwealth Games was held in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland and an Under-19-side was send to present South Africa.  The 2018 Commonwealth Games Federation have decided that the age-limit for this forthcoming Festival for Rugby League will be upgraded to Under-23 age-limit.
 
The Festival for Rugby League will be played on the Nines-concept whereby 9 players will take the field (similar to the 7s of Union Rugby) with 4 rolling interchanges.
 
The core SARL Tour Management Team have now been selected to start initial preparation for the Festival to take place on the 22 – 24 February 2018.  Hosting venues on the Australian Gold Coast will be identified in due course by Rugby League International Federation (RLiF) and the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) Festival Committee.
 
The key objective for the tour management team in the preparation stage will be to-

• Gain Sponsorships
• Visit all SA-provinces to identify & screen potential Rugby League players for final selection to this high pace Nines-concept.

 
SARL U/23 Touring Management Team:

• Fanie Bredenhann have been elected to coordinate the 2018 tour-process.
• As senior coach Hendrik (Drikkies) Mulder will manage the coaching team with Jean Coetzer (assistant coach) & Addie de Witt (trainer) in preparation for the Games.
• A big “add-on” to the squad will be the services of doctor Frans Erasmus that will assist in the endeavor to ensure that the selected players will be in good physical & healthy condition on and off the pitch.

 
SARL Representative Team

• Kobus Botha (SARL President) & Frans Parsons (SARL CEO) will represent the SARL Board.
• Nigel Goos, as SARL International Development Officer (based in Brisbane, Australia) will assist in matters related to international based-SA-players.
• Deo Botha will be manage the media pre and during the Festival.
• A SARL Match Official will be identified at a later stage to join the representative team to Australia to represent the SARL MOs.

 
For enquiries, please contact-
 
Fanie Bredenhann
2018  SARL Tour Coordinator
M: +27 (0)83 677 2111
fbredenhann@deloitte.co.za

SARL would like to congratulate the players that have made the 1st Cut / Group for the Rhinos upcoming Tri-Nations Tournament.

IT’S something only the bravest of men would shout in the streets of Jean Coetzer’s native Pretoria.
It would probably draw derision at it’s mildest and pose a threat to one’s person at it’s most extreme, but for Corrimal recruit, Coetzer, there is no doubt – rugby league is the greatest game of all.
“It’s a lot better than union, it’s faster quicker, tougher,” Coetzer says.
League writers Mitch Jennings and Tim Barrow talk NRL and Illawarra Coal LeagueLike most boys growing up in Pretoria, Coetzer was brought up in the 15-man game with no knowledge of rugby league.
“When I was young it was non-existent. I didn’t even know about it,” Coetzer said.
“I grew up playing union and started playing [league] in 2009, with my brother just for a bit of bonding with friends. I got straight through to provincial [championship] and straight to International and I’ve played ever since.”
The game is faced with many hurdles in his homeland, not the least of which is the the South African Sports Confederation’s stubborn refusal to recognise the game as separate from rugby union; the battle the league fought in other countries more than 100 years ago.
Despite that the competition continues to grow with the premier Rhino Cup featuring teams from Gauteng Province and another competition based around Cape Town.
“When I started I don’t think we were even on the map but it’s really coming up now,” Coetzer said.
“The Rhino Cup is our top comp and it’s based mainly Gauteng [province], so between Pretoria, Johannesburg and Mpumalanga. This year we started a comp in Cape Town so hopefully if the money gets good we can combine and make it a big [national] comp.”
Coetzer first played his first Test for South Africa in 2009 and captained the Rhinos in their World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon last year, a tournament that saw the climb as high as 25 in the world rankings.
“It was a very great experience, especially with all the young boys I had under me. It’s was a really big honour,” he said.
At 26, he felt the time was right to seek out a tougher challenge. He got a quick initiation in the Cougars last-start loss to Collegians and Saturday promises a massive step up against league leaders Dapto.
“This is the first time I’ve come abroad to play and I’ve definitely come here for a step up,” he said. 
“I came straight off the plane and got straight into the two practice sessions and played [against Collegians]. It’s a lot quicker than I’m used to but now, after three weeks, the body’s more used to it so we’ll see how I go this weekend against Dapto.”
Elsewhere in the Illawarra Coal League, Wests host Thirroul at Parrish Park while Berkeley will travel to Helensburgh to take on the Tigers at Rex Jackson Oval.

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