Hurricanes 'banned' fans from hotels

A South African woman has taken court action claiming the Hurricanes Super 14 rugby team had her and her daughter banned from two hotels in the republic where the squad were staying.

Lisa Herselman has complained to a South African court that she and daughter Nyika Triegaardt, both Hurricanes fans, were discriminated against when banned.

In Durban's Equality Court this week Ms Herselman said she was told the Hurricanes wanted her and her daughter banned from the team's beachfront Durban hotel as they did not want distractions.

Their booking in Bloemfontein, where the team played the Cheetahs in March, was also cancelled. Both hotels are part of the Southern Sun chain.

Hurricanes chief executive Malcolm Holmes said there had been no request for the hotel chain to ban the women.

The Hurricanes were based in Durban on a tour in which they played the Cheetahs and the Stormers in Cape Town.

The Mercury newspaper in Durban reported that lawyers acting for the Hurricanes and the Elangeni Hotel were trying to negotiate a settlement.

The case has been adjourned until early July.

After meeting the players at the airport, Ms Herselman and her daughter joined them at the hotel for coffee.

Two days later Elangeni Hotel manager Mike Jackson told her she was not welcome because the Hurricanes did not want any further distractions.

The Bloemfontein booking was also subsequently cancelled.

Ms Herselman said her attempts to find out from the Hurricanes' management what was going on had been "treated with contempt".

Mr Holmes said the matter was one for the hotel chain.

"We're working through it with the Southern Sun Hotel Group, but we're disappointed we've been involved."

New Zealand rugby teams had a security policy that hotels should restrict entry to the floor where players had rooms, he said.

"We asked the Elangeni Hotel to make sure that was in place."

Asked if the two women had been a nuisance, Mr Holmes said that question would have to be put to the hotel.

The Hurricanes had not been party to talks between the hotel and the woman, a former hotel employee, he said.

In papers filed with the court, both Mr Jackson and Hurricanes operations manager Tony Bedford - who said he had been a friend of Ms Herselman for 10 years - denied the two women had been discriminated against or treated unfairly.

Ms Herselman and Ms Triegaardt are demanding damages and an unconditional apology from Mr Jackson and the Hurricanes.

- NZPA