​PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
FROM: ERL MEDIA DEPARTMENT
DATE: 6 August 2021
 
EUROPEAN RUGBY LEAGUE BOARD STATEMENT REGARDING MOVING THE WORLD CUP TO 2022
 
The board of the European Rugby League (ERL) has issued the following statement after the organisers announced postponing the 2021 Rugby League World Cup by a year.
 
‘The ERL board supports the tremendously difficult decision taken to postpone the RLWC2021, recognises the circumstances behind it, and will continue to assist the organisers to deliver the promised biggest and best event ever in 2022.
 
Given the impact on other nations in respect of the availability of NRL-based players, it is now imperative that the Australian Rugby League Commission and New Zealand Rugby League, who have pressured for the delay, fully deliver on their renewed commitment to this pinnacle event for the sport; it is time for actions, not words.
 
We recognize the huge logistical effort that must now go into rescheduling dates and acknowledge and appreciate the significant life decisions made by men’s, women’s and wheelchair players and officials who have committed to participate in the greatest tournament the sport can provide, and likewise offer them our support for their continued sacrifices.
 
In the interim, we will work with our member nations and the International Rugby League (IRL) to consider the calendar for autumn 2021 and beyond, particularly with the now necessary adjustments to 2025 World Cup qualifying processes in the regions.
 
Further information will be issued on that in due course.’
 
KOBUS BOTHA
Secretary-General SARLSA

Welcome back to the Witbank Knights RL Club. We know you were a force to reckon with during The Rhino Cup in the past. We are excited to see what you can do in this coming season.

Best of luck to the new management and all the players.
Andre Coetzer

THE HISTORY OF THE WITBANK KNIGHTS RL CLUB:
The Witbank Knights RL Club was founded in 2008 by Christie Noble.                                                               They also won the Mpumalanga RL Provincial competition during their first season.  
        
In 2010 the Witbank Knights RL Club and the Middelburg Tigers RL Club decided to merge since Middelburg and Witbank were so close to each other. The combined club was known as the Middelburg Tigers RL Club.

 In 2016 a decision was made to split and start the Witbank Knights RL Club once again. 

In 2017 The Witbank Knights and the Middelburg Tigers RL Club merged again and was then again known as the Middelburg Tigers 

In 2020   there, once again was a split. Witbank Knights RL Club again formed a club for the third time. During the 2020 season, the Witbank Knights RL Club won the Mpumalanga league.

The Club Chairman Wayne Burger said that the Witbank Knights RL Club is ready for the coming season.

During the years the Witbank Knights RL Club produced 4 Rhino test players namely: Jean-di Oosthuysen, JP Hulbert, Theuns Botha & Brandon Snell. 

There were numerous players of the Witbank Knights RL Club that were included in the Rhino training Camps.
The Current Chairman, Wayne Burger is also a proud Rhino player and was named the South African Rugby League Player of the year for the 2014/15 season.

Wayne also used to play for the Ermelo Tomahawks RL Club in Ermelo and was also the Chairman & Coach for the Ermelo Tomahawks RL Club for several years.

The Witbank Knights boasts with an experienced Head Coach namely Addie de Witt.  Addie also represented the Rhino squad as a Strength and Conditioning on several occasions. 

Burger said that the Witbank Knights are looking forward to the RL season and can’t wait for the season to start.
Wayne Burger Witbank Knights Chair.

ALF LARARD – RUGBY LEAGUE’S FIRST SPRINGBOK -1896
TRANSVAAL 1894 -1898

Alf Larard played rugby league for four seasons at the end of his career. He played at centre or occasionally at half-back or on the wing for a struggling Huddersfield side, who only really found success during his time at the club when they were in the Second Division in 1904–05. 

However, he has a unique place in the history of the South African rugby union, because he scored the try when the Springboks first beat the British Lions in 1896.

Larard was born in Hull on 30 December 1870 and arrived in South Africa in 1888, aged 17. In the 1890s he played for the Diggers Club in Johannesburg, the centre of the gold mining industry. He also established himself as a member of the Transvaal provincial team. 

During the 1896 tour of the British Lions to South Africa, Larard was selected to play against the tourists when they started the Transvaal leg of the tour. He was selected on five occasions to represent the first representative teams of his union and second, his adopted country. 

In the first match on Wednesday 12 August 1896, he represented the Johannesburg Country XV before a crowd of 5,000 spectators. Despite fielding a virtual full Diggers team (10 out of 15), the Johannesburg side still lost the match 7–0. 

Three days later, on Saturday, 15 August 1896, Larard represented the Transvaal provincial side against the tourists in Johannesburg. Despite this team being much more representative of all the union’s clubs, the home side still lost 16–3 before a crowd of 7,000. 

Four days later, on Wednesday 19 August 1896, Larard and his Transvaal teammates once again squared up to meet the tourists for a second encounter in Johannesburg before a crowd of 4,000 spectators. For the second time they were defeated, this time 15–5. South Africa lost the first test to the Lions 8–0. Team changes saw Larard selected for the Springboks at half-back to play the Lions in the second test on 22 August. 

He was the 47th player to be chosen for the Springboks. 

The match was at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, and a 5,000 crowd saw the Springboks lose 17–8. He was dropped for the third Test, which the Lions won 9–3, but recalled for the final match of the series, on 5 September at Newlands in Cape Town. A 3,500 crowd saw South Africa win 5–0, and Larard scored the try.

By Hendrik Snyders

RAY MORDT

On 12 July 1980, 40 years ago, Raymond Herman (“Ray”) Mordt [Back row – second from left], played in his fourth test against the British & Irish Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. A native of Ceres in the Western Cape Province, he received his formal and rugby education at David Livingstone and Church Hill High Schools in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. He missed out on a place in the former Rhodesian schools side although he was regarded as a ‘great emerging talent’. After school, he joined the Rhodesian Army for two years, but never played rugby. Following his Army stint, Mordt joined the Police and, by his own admission, was asked to leave after three weeks because of his ‘reputation as a troublemaker’. Fortunately, he befriended Springbok Ian Robertson who became his training partner and mentor and succeeded in channeling his abundant talent and energy into competitive rugby. 
 By 1977, aged 19 years, Mordt, a member of the Old Hararians club, was selected to represent Rhodesia on the wing for the Currie Cup. He made his debut against Western Province at the Police Ground in Salisbury before 15,000 ecstatic fans. Mordt, ‘thundering through the cover defence, shrugging off tackles and scoring the final try’ helped his team to a famous 18–9 victory.  He scored further tries against Boland and Natal as well as for the Rhodesian XV against a South African XV at the end of the season. This started a three-year association with Currie Cup rugby and Rhodesia.

Despite playing representative rugby for one of the minnows in the Currie Cup, Mordt from the outset Mordt established himself as one of the competition’s foremost try-scorers. In addition to being a first-class wing and often being described as virtually almost unstoppable, he also shone on defence. Amongst his provincial achievements were a hat-trick of tries in their 25- 12 victory against Griquas on 22 September 1979 at Hatfield. This was only the second time in the history of Rhodesian rugby that a player achieved such a feat. His fine form was finally rewarded with selection for the South African Gazelles, the under-24s team at the end of the 1978-season. Due to injury, however, Mordt was not able to play and had to withdraw.  On 26 April 1980, however, he made his debut for the Springboks against the South American Jaguars. There was therefore no looking back and over the subsequent years, he represented the Springboks in 18 tests against diverse opponents such as the South American Jaguars, British Lions, All Blacks, France, Ireland and the USA. 
Following South Africa’s rugby isolation, and with nothing more to achieve in rugby union, Mordt joined English rugby league club Wigan. He made his début for the new club on the wing on Sunday, 5 January 1986 against Swinton. He scored his first try for Wigan on Sunday 2 March 1986, a year after his arrival, in a  44-6 victory over Hull F.C. at Central Park, Wigan. Playing on the right wing, i.e. number 2, in only his second match, he also represented Wigan in the 1985–86 John Player Special Trophy Final at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 11 January 1986. Played in freezing cold, with rain turning to a blizzard, Mordt enjoyed early success following their 11-8 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers. Mordt enjoyed further success as part of the Championship-winning team during the 1986–87 season. Particularly satisfying was his last try for Wigan in the 54-2 victory over Oldham at Central Park, Wigan on Wednesday 8 April 1987. Mordt played his last match on Monday 20 April 1987 against Oldham at Watersheddings. This last victory [24-6 victory ] signalled the end of  Mordt short rugby league career of 16 first team appearances, plus four off the bench, and a credible 15 tries.

​The 27th of July was the closing date for applications for Full membership of Provinces and Clubs with SARLSA. The following Clubs and Provinces have been registered with SARLSA as Full members and the Management would like to congratulate them on this achievement.
Three other Clubs lodged their documentation in time, but the documentation was not complete. Two days will be given to lodge the correct documentation and should be handed in no later than the 29th of July 2021. These clubs are:
Ellsberg RL Club
EP Dragons
EP Titans
If the documentation does not reach us on the 29th of June 2021 these Clubs will be registered as Observer Clubs.

Full member SARLSA Provinces and Clubs:

 Full Member Provinces:
I. Gauteng Cowboys.
II. Mpumalanga Panthers

Full Member Clubs:
I. Brits Bulldogs 
II. Spartans 
III. Witbank Knights 
IV. Pretoria 
V. St Helens Vultures 
VI. Grizzlies 
VII. Rabbithos 
VIII.Silverbacks 
IX. Tomahawks 
X. TuksRugbyLeague 
XI. Marble Hall Leopards 

We would also like to welcome all the new Clubs to the Rugby League family.

Kobus Botha: SARLSA Secretary-General.

The South African Rugby League season traditionally starts on 1 September. The Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions by the government severely affected the rugby union's club and amateur championships.
In conversation with Dr. Eugene Hare, CEO of BBRU, it was decided to start the rugby league season only on the 1st of November 2021. This will give the union clubs the opportunity to complete their respective competition season. In view of possible further Covid-19 restrictions, it has been agreed that the BBRU will conclude their amateur championships on or before the 31st of October 2021.
The implication of this is that the rugby league season could possibly extend until March 2022.

Dr. Frans Erasmus

The management and members of the South African Rugby League would like to congratulate Warren Pretorius on his inclusion on the Emerging Match Official Panel.
Well done, Warren. This is an achievement that you can be proud of. All your hard and dedicated work has now been recognized with this appointment.

News
SIXTEEN NATIONS REPRESENTED IN IRL EMERGING MATCH OFFICIALS PANEL

Published by IRL
20 Jul 2021

International Rugby League is pleased to announce the members of the newly formed Emerging Match Officials Panel. Match Officials from this panel will officiate in bilateral games between lower-ranked countries, Euro/Oceania C-D competitions as well as some junior internationals. Officials on this panel have mainly been selected from outside the top rugby league playing nations and creates an opportunity for international development and progression through their countries own officiating systems. 
Announcing the panel, International Rugby League Match Officials Manager, Stuart Cummings said:
“It is great to see such a large number of countries represented on this panel which creates opportunities that have never been afforded before. Hopefully, the work we can do with these officials in international competition can build on the hard work being done in each of their countries on the development of match officials as well as showing the way for these officials to progress in the game.”
The panel has been selected following nominations from all members and the appointments for these officials will be overseen by the European Rugby League and the Asia Pacific Rugby League. In all, 16 different countries have provided officials for this panel.

The Emerging Match Officials Panel is:

29 January 2021
International Rugby League History and Heritage Group
The History and Heritage Group (Tony Collins, Andrew Ferguson, Neil Ormston, Tas Baitieri, Danny Kazandjian, Niel Wood) has, over the past 6 months, examined every “international match” ever played in order to create, for the first time ever, a definitive list of games formally recognised by IRL. These will be called “Senior International Matches”
In doing this, we are not attempting to re-write history, change what members have already recognised as internationals or not and certainly not attempting to change alter any player’s international record. The recognition of players and the awarding of caps etc. to commemorate international appearances remains entirely in the gift of each nation.
To decide whether a game is recognised or not has taken a great deal of discussion and consideration as we are trying to recognise games and circumstances from very different times. Therefore, we established some guiding criteria as follows:

•        Would the game be recognised today?
•        A senior international match played between two recognised members, played to full                       international rules?
•        Would the game, at the time, have been treated as such by the players, administrators and             public?
•       Was the game a part of a recognised and approved international competition or a competition         that would carry that status today?

We are now at the next stage of the process which is to consult with each member so that they can examine our list and comment accordingly.
Please find attached the list that we hold for you, I would be grateful if you could reply by February 28th, 2021 if you have any comments to make, if not, we will assume that you are ok with the list.

Best wishes
​
Niel Wood
IRL Media Manager

As I write this, people all around the world is dealing with the most profound crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic. Our individual and collective resilience is being tested, not only by the pandemic, but also the loss of income, loss of jobs and jobs opportunities. Fake news and misinterpretation of facts contributed to the uncertainty.

Covid-19 also took his toll in the rugby league community. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to everyone that lost a family member or friend to the Covid-19 pandemic.
No games were played on field during this season, but we did play a virtual league on Facebook.         
I like to thank everyone that helped or participated in what ever way to make this project a success. South African Rugby League’s Facebook ratings increased dramatically during the competition.
Thank you, Deo Botha and team, for your tremendous effort in this regard. I must also mention Bernard Verster for the excellent idea.
​
The opportunity to return to play presented in October. The cost and effort to comply to the Return to Play Protocol made it impossible for the clubs to participate in this project.   
The season went by without any games played.

Little happened on the field but off the field the administrators were busy. Western Province Rugby League had successful meetings and will be back in the game with the new season.
Northern Gauteng Rugby League is the first to affiliate with their rugby union province, in this case the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. I trust that the other provinces will soon follow suit in this important endeavour. As a result of the negotiations the NGRL’s Northern Bulls changed their name to the Northern Gauteng Cowboys.

On international level SARLSA got involved in the foundation of the new Middle East Africa Rugby League Federation. The MEARLF holds a promising and interesting challenge for SARLSA with much more opportunities on international level.
I would like to thank our Secretary General, Kobus Botha and all the members of the board as well as the directors of SARLSA for their continuous support and hard work.
The Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over, use the time to get your club and province in order.
 
 
“The future depends on what we do with the present” – Mahatma Ghandi .
 
Kind regards,

Dr.Frans F. Erasmus
President: South African Rugby League Sporting Association